Living Life for Christ Alone

"'...You are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed , and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.'" (Jesus to Martha in Luke 10:41-42) How complicated life can become!  At one moment, we are on a mountaintop and see everything clearly, and then as we wade into life's many deep waters, perspective can easily be replaced with foggy thinking.  Confession time: I found myself here this last week... It wasn't fun to have gone from such clarity to so much fog so easily.  The mountaintop of clarity was quickly replaced with a pit of sluggish mud that seemed to drag my feet down, down, down... away from simplicity, which had  been producing joy.  The worries Martha was experiencing are the types of worries I was starting to experience all. the. time.  Let's see... How did Jesus put it? "You are worried and troubled about many things."  Ugh. That's  SO  me.  How do I explain?  ...Well, ...

    The cage was old and rickety, but it still served its purpose. An odor of death seemed to penetrate every ounce of air that was in the vicinity. A thick darkness surrounded the cage. Within the cage lay a small, almost lifeless, girl. She was starved and dirty, and if one were to look into her eyes, a hint of despair and hopelessness could be seen there.     Outside the cage sat a cruel old man, guarding the doorway so none could get in or out. He held in his hands a weapon that none could distinguish in our modern world. His eyes lurched to and fro, looking for anyone who would assay to set the girl free.    Suddenly, out of the distance, the girl could hear a cry. At first it was faint, but soon it became louder and clear. The voice was crying for joy, “I’m free! My cage is broken! I don’t have to be trapped in there anymore!”