Give Me One for the Underdog...

Today Harv and I went out for a walk and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. What a beautiful day – the kind that makes your heart happy. But as we walked we stumbled across something that filled my heart with more jubilation than even the weather. Someone was out there putting up Christmas lights! My heart did a little leap. OK – it was more than a little leap – I was filled with great levels of glad tidings and joy and immediately started singing “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…” I am a bit of a Christmas NUT. Our house turns into a winter wonderland of snowman, nativity’s, trees, candles and other Christmas paraphernalia. Seeing that November is right around the corner, I will soon be itching to start decorating. Harv usually makes me wait until after the Grey Cup. I don’t know why, but we all have our traditions that we follow religiously. I don’t remember discussing this during the pre-marriage counselling, but I am starting to think that it should be listed right up there with spending habits and visitation rights of in-laws. But back to Christmas… I admit that I have already bought two Christmas magazines, and perused through many others in the Superstore grocery line up. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

Even in my anticipation, I find myself percolating on a few things that have come to my attention lately. First of all I ran into someone lately that said she didn’t LIKE Christmas. She didn’t like it at all. I tried to hide my shock and awe, and not startle her too much with my wide eyed wonder and emphatic – “WHAT?!?!?” She said that it was too commercialized. Yes, I have heard that before. Then, on the same weekend I read a book title that caused me to ponder further. The title was Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas? I stood there looking at that for quite a while, and I am afraid the title has not left me since…but not in the way that you might think. I know what they are saying…that we should not get so caught up in the craziness and commercial aspects of Christmas that we forget the true and real meaning. And I agree with that wholeheartedly. But I am also starting to think that poor Martha has been getting a bad rap her whole life. Everyone is so down on Martha…Martha is the worry wart…Martha is the obsessed…Martha has the anal retentive qualities of an ant on ritalin. But Mary…MARY has it all right. Every woman’s conference from here to Tuktiyuktuk has featured some speaker praising Mary and dogging on Martha. OK…I know that Jesus himself said that Mary had chosen what is right (Luke 10:38-42), and Martha, though well intentioned was slightly misguided. I am well familiar with the story. And I agree that we should be more concerned with the state of our heart than the state of our house. But I guess what I am wondering is this…is it always one or the other? What do you get when you have a Martha cross bred WITH a Mary? Because personally I think that I am a bit of both. I love to sit at the feet of Jesus. I just like to do it on a lovely colored floor mat with candles lit in the background, and maybe a streaming cup of hot cocoa and a platter of stuffed mushrooms and crab puffs beside me. So I am wondering…can you have the heart of Martha and Mary combined? And is it OK? Am I forgetting the meaning of Christmas and the beauty of the nativity story just because my house is a virtual wonderland of glitter and twinkle? Can I not have a heart for the Lord and still be concerned about the beauty of my surroundings? Because personally I think that God GAVE me a love for beauty. I know that in this, as with everything, it is all about balance. Everything in moderation right? But I guess today I just wanted to put in a little plug for the underdog. A little affirmation for the Martha’s in this world. A reminder that even Martha’s want beauty in their hearts (they just want it in their homes as well). And just remember the next time you are at a conference learning how to be a Mary while excavating any traces of Martha in your heart – think about who most likely organized the event in the first place? My guess is – probably a Martha.