It’s Tax Season
Becoming Mary in a Martha World
Wading through taxes is one of the most confusing things I have ever done in my life. I am overwhelmed. Not just your regular everyday “married-filing-jointly” federal taxes, mind you. That is easy, compared to…this! Starting a small business is not for the fainthearted. After numerous calls to different agencies, I finally figured out city, state and county forms and processes. Check, check, check! But, federal? Ouch. One publication references six others, each with varying nuances and rules. Woven throughout are accounting terms an engineer doesn’t use on a regular (or ever) basis.
After working through the automated phone system of our dear federal government, a pleasant, mechanical voice told me that they no longer staff the small business line with a live person and that I should check out the IRS small business website for helpful answers to most questions. Except mine. So here I sit on the 32nd floor of the IRS building in downtown Seattle, waiting during the last walk-in session before taxes are due for (hopefully) “the final answer” from a helpful and friendly tax agent.
Through this ordeal, I am reminded of two very important things:
Know when to ask for help
I’m not very good at that. I typically try to do things on my own until I get to the point where I am forced to ask for help. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman in a male-dominated profession. Maybe it’s because I’m the youngest child. Or maybe it’s simply because of pride. I don’t like to ask for help because it makes me feel weak. I want to do everything myself.
I once participated in a wilderness leadership training course in the middle of winter in Sweden. We were required to carry our own gear for the week in military backpacks. Unfortunately, the backpacks were not cut for a female and with gear, weighed over 50 pounds. Not only did my backpack not fit correctly, but I was not used to carrying that extra weight. Completing the trifecta of issues was that I had knee issues - and hiking in snowy terrain aggravated my pain. However, being the only woman in the group, I was not going to let anything stop me from keeping up with my male colleagues.
I ended up having to pull out the day before the trek ended. I just couldn’t go any farther. Everyone in my group tried to help, but it was too late. Even though they kept taking more and more of my gear, the walking was so painful that even with an empty backpack, I was in tears and could not continue.
At the end of the trek, we each took a turn in a chair with our backs to the rest of the group while they proceeded – as if we weren’t there – to talk about what could have made us more successful. When it was my turn, I painfully heard, time and time again, that I didn’t need to try to be one of the guys. Had I asked for help earlier, they would have eagerly given it. I have never forgotten that lesson.
Do you try to do things on your own or are you willing to admit when you need help?
The bible is filled with stories of people asking God for help. From a leper to a blind person to someone lying by the side of pool, or one whose servant or child was sick, these people all had one thing in common: they knew they needed help. Time and time again, Jesus answered their pleas.
If you need help, turn to Jesus. He is waiting and ready to meet you exactly where you are. He longs to be the One to whom you turn when you need help.
Let someone with experience lead
It is always preferable to follow someone who knows what they are doing or has done it before. During this same wilderness trip, our first assignment was to meet at a certain location using only a compass and map. Three groups set out within 30 minutes of each other, with ours the last to be dropped off. None of us were adept in mountaineering.
Our ‘leader’ was given a 20-minute training session before we left. We didn’t know each other. We just knew our leader was as green as we were. At one point, we got into a heated discussion when he wanted to go in one direction while all other tracks went a different way. Finally, we followed his lead – and ended up being the first group to make it to the rendezvous point, although not in the allotted time. What a difference it would have made if our leader had been an accomplished mountaineer. I believe we would have immediately followed him, without wasting precious time arguing about who was right. Someone who was experienced would have been deemed trustworthy to lead.
Some people seem more attuned to wanting to do things on their own; learning things the hard way rather than listening to those who have already experienced what they are facing.
We can get so busy doing things on our own that we don’t take time to step out of the busyness of life and let the One who is our ultimate leader teach us a better way.
Luke 10:38-42 tells the familiar story about the sisters Martha and Mary. At an evening meal for Jesus and His disciples, Martha scurried around to get things ready while Mary sat at the Jesus’ feet. Martha asked Jesus to rebuke Mary so she could help with preparations. Instead, Jesus commended Mary for what He termed, “the more important task”.
If Jesus is our leader, we need to let Him lead – and then be willing to follow. We need to not get so caught up with activities that we forget what it means to follow Him. Both Mary and Martha loved Jesus, but each had a different way of pursuing that relationship.
Jesus encourages us to become like Mary. The world will always vie for our attention: one more committee, one more task to do before we find time to spend with Him. But it shouldn’t work that way. This story reminds us that in the midst of life, Jesus calls us to live beyond the noise of the world and simply sit at His feet. That is the One I want to follow.
Living Beyond the Noise is not a place to hide from the world. It is living for Jesus without the world overwhelming you. It is a place where Jesus guides and directs each of your steps.
Go Beyond:
Are you willing to ask Jesus for help? Do you let Jesus lead, or are you so busy with life that you come to Jesus on your own terms and when the time is convenient for you?
“I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Ps 16:8
Feel free to share your response in the comments below!
