The Good Portion

"...but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:42 ESV

Last weekend was my birthday weekend, and although we did a great amount of celebrating, I have been in denial about this particular age change since May. For some reason, the number 35 hit me hard, so I've been doing a lot of thinking as to why that is.

In my pondering, I realized that I had many goals I wanted to complete by age 35. A lot of them I have done, and a lot of them I still have on my to-do list. And then I realized that I was thinking about this in the completely wrong way. I was looking at a list of things I had done, or accomplished, when I should have been looking at the list of things that I am, a created being of God.

It brought me back to the lovely Biblical story of Mary and Martha and their first encounter with Christ. Martha was busy with her doings and preparations for a meal with Christ, and Mary was in a state of being, listening and reforming her soul in front of Christ. Christ went so far as to say that Mary at the moment had chosen the good portion, and ultimately that being and embracing who you are is much more important than the accolades behind your work.

So for the month of June, I've been embracing the idea of just being and have found a few gems along the way:

1. Celebrating Pentecost and Holy Trinity Sunday at church

2. Long walks at sunset

3. A night at the opera

4. Date nights with my husband

5. Phone calls with my best friends

6. A night of Shakespeare (with a picnic)

7. Meeting wise piano teachers and asking for studio / teaching advice

8. Taking the time to really enjoy Mark Twain's works and analyzing their meanings

9. Planning a much needed vacation

10. Watching a ridiculous amount of Cary Grant films

I'm slowly re-training my thoughts from doing into being. Being to me means seeking and finding the good, true, and beautiful (the three transcendentals) and allowing them to teach me something about God, myself, and my relationships with others. It's been a lovely process, and I still have a lot of work to do on letting go of my to-do list.

But, it's a start in the right direction!