Becoming a Mary in a Martha world

During the last weeks of my mother’s life I spent many hours at her home. She was bedridden in her living room in a hospital bed. She was so miserable being like this. 

Thinking I was being the helper she wanted I busied myself cooking meals for my dad to have since she was now unable, cleaning her bathrooms and changing the laundry to keep on top of things. She sat quietly watching me and requested that I stop and just come sit with her. I declined at first, knowing she was feeling like such a burden and just didn’t want me to continue to work.

She persisted that all the chores can wait, that she was dying and that she wanted to just be together with me. She had the wisdom to see that life, her life, was literally passing by. She didn't want me to live with any regrets.

I climbed into bed with my mom that afternoon. I held her in my arms like she had held me so many times before. We laughed about so many fond memories and talked at length about the near future. 

Her desires for her personal items and how to support our dad. She gave her permission to encourage our dad to move on to remarry. She warned of the weak areas in my dad that only she knew of.

This was also my opportunity to ask her the questions that I knew I would have one day and be unable to seek her wisdom on.

She instructed me on how to get my teenage son talking is to make sure he is well fed. Food was her way to speak to her boys’ hearts. My son and I now share a love for cooking together, thanks to this piece of advice. We have shared many conversations over onions that are caramelizing or waiting and watching a German Pancake rise in the oven.

With age comes wisdom and I'll be forever grateful for her vision that didn't let me be so distracted by busyness that I would have missed that moment that is now a fond memory. 

Luke 10:38
I'm learning to become a Mary in a Martha world.