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Cumbered is an old-fashioned word, but doesn't it fit the things we feel sometimes? We feel like everything is all wrong, and we don't even know what "everything" is, but we just know we are "out of whack." Cumbered.
Many years ago I was feeling very cumbered. One day, in an effort to find any peace at all, I read from the scriptures, and came to the story of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Luke begins by telling us that "Martha was cumbered about much serving."
That hit me. I knew that feeling. I was living it.
So I read the story with interest. What happened? Why?
This story has changed my life. Perhaps you remember it. Martha was cumbered, She was busy with tasks that had to be done. She had invited Jesus to her house. Her sister Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, and not doing any of the work. Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her.
I knew that Jesus told Martha this: "But one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that better part." I had always assumed He was telling her that Mary chose the right thing - to sit and listen to His words. I assumed that meant that Martha was wrong. She didn't choose the needful thing. I had tried hard all my life to follow that - to choose the "one needful thing."
The problem was that I wasn't always sure what the "one needful thing" was. Sometimes I knew what I should do, but sometimes I didn't know. It didn't seem logical to do nothing but read scriptures all day. Is that what Jesus was telling Martha to do?
I read this passage very carefully. Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things." Interestingly enough, "careful and troubled" is the exact dictionary definition of the word cumbered. Why would He be so precise in pointing out her emotion to her? And why did He continue and tell Martha "but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that better part?" Mary only chose part of the equation -- so what was the other part? It's also interesting to note what Jesus did not say. He did not tell Martha to quit doing what she was doing. He did not tell her that she should have worked harder, or prepared yesterday, or been more efficient. He just simply pointed out her emotions to her, and told her that Mary chose the better part.
Mary chose peace. She wanted peace in her heart, and the way she chose to obtain that peace was to sit at the feet of the Master. Martha too wanted peace, but she thought that you had to get everything done in order to have peace. After the work was done she'd have peace.
That's backwards. First, we have to choose peace. We do that by understanding our emotions. Once we understand what we are feeling and thinking, we can make choices that lead to peace. I believe that is the message of this passage of scripture.
My book, "The Martha Principle" isn't finished with the publication process yet, but we do have an offer for you. If you will take the time to e-mail me at
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, we will send you a coupon code for 15% off and let you know when it is available. Hopefully it will be available this spring. We do have two CDs that help explain how these very basic, simple, five principles, can change your life and help you find peace in any circumstance. Those CDs, "CPR for Emotions," and "Emotional Health 101" show how to use these principles in every-day life, and to heal emotional concerns and hurts. We show you easy techniques to use that can instantly change the energy of emotions.
We have several CD products available, which talk about these principles in detail, so that you can begin today to use these principles in your life. We invite you also to be a participant in our blog, and to discuss principles there.
Don and I have ten children, some biological, some adopted. Each child is different and unique, and each child has to learn a lot of things about emotions! We know first-hand that the only thing that the most important thing we have ever done is to use these five principles. We use them every single day in all kinds of situations - overwhelming times, dealing with financial matters, dealing with emotional issues, healing trauma and abuse from the past, and in conquering those emotional things such as depression, illness or phobias. We have had a lot of experience with emotions in our family and in the lives of others we have worked with. We have found that principles are universally true, and that they have never yet failed to provide us with understanding and peace.
Re-Solving Emotions Brings Peace.
Peace In Any Circumstance Is Possible.
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