DROP EVERYTHING

I  was cleaning the kitchen this morning when I received a text message from a good friend who lives about an hour South of me.  She said that she had a doctor appointment in my neck of the woods and asked if I wanted to meet for breakfast when she finished at approximately 9.  It was 8:30.  I was still in my jams, neither hair nor teeth were brushed and no make-up.  I had a long list of to-dos to get ready for Christmas.  My tree has been up for over a week and still isn’t decorated.  My house is in serious need of a visit from the cleaning fairy.  I have White Trash, Cinnamon Pecans and cookies to make.  I haven’t really begun to shop for gifts.  I have a pile of laundry to do after being away last weekend.  And I had this blog post to write.  (I did promise hope to write something every single day of this year.)
 
So of course I begged off stating that I had too much to do and promised to make sure that we get together soon, right?   NO WAY!  I quickly thanked her for the “heads up” (Where is my sarcasm font?) and said I’m on my way.


Fortunately, I showered before bed last night.  I pulled a pair of jeans out of the dirty clothes hamper (Don’t judge, people.  It’s not like I slopped hogs in them.) and put them in the dryer with a damp towel for 10 minutes.  While the jeans were de-wrinkling, I brushed my teeth, ran a curling iron over the ends of my hair and slapped on some make-up. I managed to find a clean sweater and the required Christmas necklace.   I retrieved my jeans, looking good as new by the way, put them on and was out the door. 

I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with a dear friend that lasted 3 1/2 hours.  (We had a lot to catch up on.)  On my way home, I decided to get my pedicure out of the way.  My Harley Stud called in the middle of my pedicure and asked if I wanted to ride along to Vero Beach where he had to visit a customer.  I finally made it back home at 7pm.   And so the to-do list crashed and burned.


One of my favorite Bible stories (because balancing priorities seems to be a problem for me) is the one where Jesus comes to visit Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha.  While Martha is busy preparing food, cleaning up and making sure that her distinguished guest has the best of every THING they have to offer, Mary sits with Jesus and visits with him.  She listens to his stories and enjoys his company all while Martha is slaving away in the kitchen (none too happy that she isn’t getting help from her sister.)  The moral of the story, of course, is that it is much more important to fellowship and love one another.  Who cares if the house is clean!
 
This year I’m going to have a merry Mary Christmas.  And I hope that you do too. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, the lesson should not be lost.  Shouldn’t we all be sure to make time to make time with our loved ones at Christmas and all throughout the year?
 
How crazy is your holiday?  Will you have  a Mary Christmas or a Martha Christmas?