Fashioned to Find the One Thing

Sizzling, steaming, boiling, clanking, and stirring are all sounds we will hear this week as we prepare the Thanksgiving meal or enjoy one prepared for us!  As women, the cooking generally falls to our ‘plates’ especially for major holidays. And spinning those plates becomes a great task in the onset of the occasion. Do you have your grocery lists ready?  Recipes pulled?  Pantry loaded?  Are your sneakers strapped on to support your feet for the long hours on the hard surfaced floor of your kitchen?  Apron secured? And then the fury begins of chopping, mincing, brining, seasoning, basting, and that is just the food prep! You and I both know there’s more to do…!

Linens pressed? (Seriously?)

House cleaned (Well, sorta…)

Table set? (Perfectly!)

Candles lit? (Yes!)

Music selected? (Hmmm)

Flowers arranged? (With care!)

Children presentable (I can only hope!)

Husband hungry? (Yep!)

As I spend time in my kitchen, I love the blossom of fragrances that fill the room as ingredients merge.  It’s an arrangement of deliciousness that beckons the family to snoop for a small morsel.  Timing each dish to arrive tableside can be a challenge when you work from one oven monopolized by “the bird!” The steadiness of keeping pace is often met with challenges.  Such as, forgetting a key ingredient, needing to put down a child for a nap, or welcoming an early arriving guest.  We can get distracted from our work, and stand lost in our own kitchen wondering what was the “one thing” we were working on?

Let me be a great friend to you this Thanksgiving and remind all of us that Jesus called out what was the “one thing.” He pointed out the most important thing amidst the flurry of a feast. 

In Luke 10 we read about Martha and Mary. Sisters who could not have been more alike and more different in a mirage of ways.  They both were doing their best to give preference to the Lord, but it was Mary who gained His attention.  Martha was busy preparing for a feast, Mary sought the one thing that was needed.  She sat at His feet. 

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus[d] entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 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.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary.[e] Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Matthew 10:38-42

Every dish you prepare this week has that one ingredient that is the X factor.  It’s the one thing that sets it apart and makes your guests savor their bite.  But Mary learned the key ingredient to knowing the heart of Jesus, was sitting at His feet. 

No matter what you find yourself doing this week in the kitchen: sizzling, steaming, boiling, clanking, stirring, washing, or drying, make sure you pause to make your way to the Lord’s feet.  It is from His hands you have gained blessings.  The very ones you will spread across your table.  It is from His hands and feet you have gained your precious salvation. Here at His feet, you will find the one thing, the secret ingredient to life’s success in loving Him.  Remaining close to Him and keeping your focus upon Who He is.  So let the dishes pile up.  Forget about preparing the extra side dish.  Clean the house after the guests leave.  Make time to sit at His feet. 

Happy Thanksgiving, my friend.