Hats versus Heart: A Mad Hatters Tea Party!

I love fairytales especially the clichéd endings– you know, when the couple drives off into the sunset and the narrator ends “and they lived happily ever after”. If only life was so simple… but its not. Our lives are far from simple.

We live in a world that places many, and most often conflicting demands on us as woman. Alice’s own words: what a strange world we live in.

Jup, our lives can get pretty complicated. I often feel like filling in a single word under “occupation” does not justify the busyness of our lives. I have the urge to add “chef” “taxi driver” “music teacher” “therapist” “Sports coach” “masseuse” instead of the word “none”



Yes, we have so many hats as ladies- so many parts and roles to fulfil that we can easily become distracted and confused.

We wear many hats but we have only one heart


My daughter's tea cup hat for her school's mad hatter party :)



the school venue: on the pavillion. really pretty for such a bland space

The tables were covered with fake grass for tablecloth

Who thought teachers could dress so girlie? Pretty socks and shoes

Verse: Luke 10:38

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."

The Moral of this story is:
The more we want to do for God, the less time we spend WITH God. The more we focus on our hats, the less focus there is for heart.

Am I saying that busyness is bad? Not at all.

There are really two lessons in this portion of scripture.

1. Firstly: We find Martha serving Jesus. She has this amazing opportunity to serve Jesus. JESUS! Wow! Yet, instead of keeping her focus on this absolute privilege, she started to look at what need to be done. She became distracted.

My daughter recently held a princess pirate party! Look at the funky hats and eyepatches, too cool.
 

It’s becoming distracted by whatever we are doing that is bad. Distracted means to be unfocused, sidetracked.

We know we are distracted when we loose sight of Jesus. When we live our lives past Christ/ without the Holy Spirit.

The result of being distracted:
When we loose sight of Jesus, we become discontent with ourselves and with others; we strive even more “for perfection” and we find even more “imperfection” in others.

We become anxious about irrelevant things.

Once we become distracted, our serving becomes dutiful and not joyful. (the root word for Distracted in the Word, literally translate into “dragging around”) We tend to do more harm than good to ourselves and others.

We often find excuses for our “distractedness” But this is my situation, it’s my responsibility, my personality, my reality…

Again, there is nothing wrong with the doing, but it is the shift of focus that makes the difference. When we start to make excuses for our busyness, then perhaps we need to stop and evaluate our lives. Are we not perhaps living past Christ?


2. The second lesson of this portion of scripture is that there is something that is more pleasing to God than our serving…

We find Mary at Jesus’ feet.

Mary chose the good portion... She knew that the Lord held her lot…(Psa 16:5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you Lord hold my lot.)

Interestingly, it was this same Mary that anointed the Lord’s feet.

How can we prevent ourselves from becoming distracted?

We do what Mary did…

Mary’s focus was on Jesus. Mary knew that sitting at Jesus’ feet was much more important than the tasks at hand.

Yes, yes, people cannot see our hearts; only our hats. But God sees our heart. And this is so much more important. It’s more important what God thinks than what people think of you. This was what Jesus was trying to tell Martha.

“Abide in Me…” (John 15:4) the word, ”abide” means “to sit down”, “to remain”.

When Jesus remains our focus, in other words, when we live with a constant awareness of the Holy Spirit; (1Jn_4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ) when we highly value and make time to listen, read and meditate on His Words then our serving is joyful and not dutiful.

I do not want to provide a set of rules on when, what and how to commune with God because then it becomes a “spiritual ritual”- just another hat to wear. It becomes the putting on of a religious hat instead of it being part of the heart, regardless of the hat you are wearing.

When He is our portion -when we live with a constant awareness of the Holy Spirit in our lives - nothing the world can throw at us, can shake us. No demands placed on us by the world will be able to make us stumble.

John 12:3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

When Jesus remains our focus, when He receives our foremost admiration, adoration and exaltation, then it is akin to what Mary did- pouring an expensive perfume over the feet of Jesus- and the pleasing aroma will spread, attracting many to the fragrance of Christ in our lives.

Ladies, we wear many hats, but we have only one heart. Let’s guard our hearts fiercely, for from within flows LIFE- the fragrance of Christ.