Lately the story of Jesus' friends in Bethany (Mary, Martha, and Lazarus) has been special to me. As I've pieced together a profile of Jesus' relationships with these siblings--and Mary, in particular--I've been warmed by the Lord's tenderness and intimacy in His interaction with them, and theirs with Him. I love Mary, especially, because I want my priorities to be the same as hers (everyone does, I guess). I love how she sits at His feet when He comes to dinner, listening to Him speak, instead of rushing around serving Him. And how she and her sister are so raw and open in their emotions with Jesus after their brother dies.
As the new year begins, I am asking Jesus to be my Teacher. There are so many aspects of Who He is that I love... He is my Father, my Friend, My Lord, My King, My Savior, My Lover, My Deliverer... but there are so many things that I want to LEARN from Him that I'm going to try to focus on being a Mary; sitting at His feet and soaking in what He has to share with me. Practically, this means digging into the Word instead of skimming the surface. Meditating on what it says instead of just quickly reading to glean an encouraging nugget for the day then move on. It means learning to communicate with Him in prayer. This will take time and effort. But I want to be a Mary, so I'm asking Him to be my Teacher. Psalm 86:11- "Teach me Your ways, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth! Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name."
I began my list this morning:
-Teach me diligence and ambition.
-Teach me flexibility.
-Teach me to be more organized.
-Teach me to be an evangelist.
-Teach me to be proactive about meeting needs around me.
-Teach me to disciple.
-Teach me to sit at your feet; learning and basking in Your presence!
-Teach me to love Your Word!
-Teach me to control myself: thoughts, appetites, words.
-Teach me the "Beatitudes" from Matthew 5-- to be poor in spirit, to mourn over what grieves Your heart, mercy, meekness, an appetite for righteousness, purity of heart, to be a peacemaker, and to be persecuted for Your name's sake.
-Teach me faith and trust.
-Teach my frugality.
-Teach me generosity.
-Teach me to pray; passionately, fervently.
-Teach me to relish small moments.
-Teach me to delight in Your fingerprints all around me.
-Teach me to value time, not squander it. To number my days and gain a heart of wisdom.
-Teach me to be a better daughter, friend, sister, granddaughter...
-Teach me to keep my word, and not make trite promises I don't remember to fulfill.
-Teach me to hurt with and cry for others.
-Teach me to value others' time more than I value my own.
-Teach me to grow and feel loved when you chasten me, instead of letting condemnation crush me.
-Teach me to abide in You- to practice Your presence.
-Teach me to speak tenderly, graciously, cautiously, lovingly. And often, not at all.
-Teach me to hate sin. In any form. And to grieve over its presence in my life or others'.
-Teach me to guard my eyes.
-Teach me to crave spiritual food more than I crave mindless entertainment.
-Teach me how much you love me.
-Teach me to hate (and fight!) apathy in my own life and in your church.
-Teach me to grieve over sin.
-Teach me to live in peace; not to let myself get frazzled and overwhelmed by life so easily.
-Teach me that people are priority.
-Teach me to memorize Your Word.
-Teach me to hope for what I long for, and not let my hope die!
-Teach me to burn with passion for my God. To desire you supremely. As my highest treasure.
-Teach me not to give up on other people easily.
-Teach me to think the best.
-Teach me what I don't even know I need to learn, yet. What are YOUR priorities for me?
And, perhaps I should add another--"Teach me not to become OVERWHELMED by all I have to learn." :) This is a tall order. I won't perfectly learn all these things in the New Year or even in the next 10 years, for that matter. But, I have the Master Teacher who delights in me and has made me His special project, creating me for good works such as these (Ephesians 2:10)! So, I know He's not overwhelmed by my list. :)
I think the Teacher's eyes light up when we ask Him to teach us these things. I'm determined, with His help, to prioritize the time spent sitting at His feet learning this year.
Like Mary did.
Ohhh Dani-
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I'm humbled. On my knees, asking the Father to teach me too and thanking Him for such a mentor as you. May HE be our ALL IN ALL- not just today, not just in these first few months of the new year where everyone tries to be "good", but EVERY DAY AND EVERY YEAR OF OUR LIVES!! May we be humble to His teaching and willing to go where He is leading. May we always be vulnerable, open vessels that are soft and are willing to be shaped by Him without a fight. May we always pursue more of Him and never settle for complacency.
May we be found sitting at His feet, learning to model ourselves after His Own Heart.
Love you, Dani, and praying that one day we shall meet again. You don't know how influential you have been in my life, and I praise and thank the Father for you!!
Toria
Thank you for your transparency, dear friend. What a wonderful thing to focus on and with all my list making, this never once crossed my mind to add...until now! Happy New Year, Dani!
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