My Mary-to-Martha ratio

As I was getting ready for work this morning, the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10: 38-42) found its way into my thoughts. I know there's a whole book about the concept of having a "Mary" heart, and I'm feeling like it may be something I need to read. But I started thinking about the story and how it relates to my quest for peace. Martha was the sister who busied herself with actually physically serving the Lord when he stepped into her home. She cleaned and cooked and prepared the house for him, and she complained when Mary did not help her. Am I a Martha? Certainly not in the sense that I'm constantly focused on serving the Lord. I lose that focus a lot. But what about in the sense that I can't slow down long enough to notice or care that I am in the presence of the Lord? I have days where I almost don't know what to do with myself if I have an hour of free time. Like today, for example. I will work until 4:30, and then I have to be somewhere at 9:30. That's five whole unplanned hours! How do I handle this? My first thought is to cram in a bunch of errands that I don't really need to run. But why can't I just curl up in the hammock with the book I just started reading, or maybe take my dogs to the park and enjoy the glorious fall weather that He has given us?

So I think there is a connection with being a Mary and being peaceful. When Jesus entered Mary and Martha's house, Mary sat at his feet and listened to what he had to say. And Jesus even said, "Mary has chosen what is better." So sitting and listening for the voice of the Lord is better than constantly being in motion, constantly being busy--that makes sense. But what if you're choosing between doing something to serve Him or sitting and listening for Him? I'm not saying that I face this choice a lot; as I said, I lose focus all the time and forget that I do what I do in order to glorify Him. I think that what I need to take away from this story is that there's nothing wrong with just stopping everything and being still. Sitting at His feet, or outside surrounded by His creation. I don't need to feel guilty or like I'm wasting time by taking time out of my busy life to listen for the voice of the Lord.

I would say I'm 90% Martha (the busy-with-my-own-life Martha, not the serving-the-Lord Martha) and 10% Mary. And that's being generous.