Don't get so busy preparing for life that your forget to live life.

​There's this story in the bible. Jesus and his disciples are traveling. You can imagine they are tired and hungry. A woman named Martha opens her house to them.

As the story goes, Martha got busy accommodating her guests. I imagine she was frantically tidying the place up and cooking dinner. While she's doing this, her sister Mary was hanging out with Jesus. The bible says she sat at his feet listening to what he had to say.

What happens next has happened to all of us, I bet. Martha starts to get hot that she's doing all the work while her sister just chills on the couch listening to Jesus go on and on about the adventures he's been on.

And then maybe you've been Martha - when Martha was done doing all the work. She marched to Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Can't you picture a sister or brother offering that complaint to mom or dad, or a co-worker offering that to the boss, or a teammate to a coach.

Well, here is what Jesus said to Martha: “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

A lot of lessons can be interpreted from that passage. But yesterday, as I read a lot of folks goals and resolutions for the new year, I had this picture of a world suddenly getting very busy.

Shoot - my own word for the year is rocket - like blast off!

One of the things I hear Jesus saying here is don't get so busy with your tasks - with doing what you think you need to do - that you forget about the things that you really need to do. I hear Jesus saying, if you get so busy preparing for life that it robs you from the chance to live life - something is probably upside down.

Jesus was saying Mary kind of had that order right - and he wasn't going to take it away from her.

There's another important piece of imagery in this story. The author says Mary sat at Jesus' feet simply listening to him.

Listening.

Once again, I think we can get so busy trying to take care of people that we forget sometimes that what most people want most is to be heard. Sometimes more than a 4 course meal - people want someone to sit next to them and listen.

My point is this - especially as we rocket into the new year.

It is a good thing - a great thing - that we all want to be better. But we will never be our best selves without one another.

I think Jesus is reminding us that every once in awhile dinner can wait. That run can wait. That project can wait. That 3-page long to-do list can wait.

What can't wait? What can't wait is connection, being heard and being known. When we have the chance for that - that can't wait.

There is a fuel we get from spending time together - from connection. The fuel that keeps the rocket going.