Losing My Head


 

 

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

 


The little lady in the picture is the true representative of what too many of us feel at Christmas time. Every single year for the past four or five years, she has lost her head. (I was going to include the picture of the headless body but that felt a little gruesome.)
Each year when I set up her beautiful town house she somehow falls or jumps to the floor, causing the loss of her head. She has friends on her little perch, a young boy and another woman. Neither of them has ever lost a head or any other body part. They remain serenely on the house while poor Sally crashes to the floor.

          I call her Sally because it goes with stress and she reminds me of stress. Sally Stressed is freaking out over all that needs to be done while Susie and Sammy Serene serenade the neighborhood. 

          Can you relate to Sally? I personally think she is the epitome, the poster child, of secular Christmas.  She should be happily caroling but as she tries to sing she’s thinking of the cookies, the presents, the out of town relatives impending visit and the teacher gifts.

          Rather than taking a few minutes each day to think about, read about or pray about the event that took place in Bethlehem, Sally is focused on the externals, the must haves and have tos. Sally has a huge family.  She is very involved at her job and her church. Her plate is full and rather than let a few things go, she runs and runs until she’s dizzy and exhausted and then….. Her head pops off! Sally is a Martha.

          If she had taken a few minutes in each of those busy days to sit with Jesus, to think about what his birth means in her life, she just might have avoided the repair bench in my hubby’s office. Which is the inanimate objects version of the doctor, the psychologist, the wine aisle or the pharmacy.

          Christmas is coming.  The anniversary of the birth of Jesus will occur and be celebrated whether we are ready or not. Too many of us will run around like Sally and become Fill in Your Name Stressed.  How many of us will have prepared our hearts so that we can keep our heads?

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