Having a Mary heart in a Martha world

The first time I came across Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, it was just a soft copy document casually shared in a WhatsApp group I belong to. I glanced at it briefly but didn’t bother to download it. Life was busy, and the moment passed.

Months later, I found myself browsing the shelves of Charisma Bookstore. There it was again — the same title, this time in print, quietly waiting among the rows of other books. I picked it up out of curiosity and read the summary on the back. Something stirred within me. I knew I couldn’t walk away this time. That day, I went home with the book in hand.

One quiet Sunday afternoon, after taking my baby to nap, I picked up the book. The house was still, the laundry finally folded, and the sink — for once — empty. I curled up on the couch with a cup of tea and a book I had heard murmurs about for months: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver.

The book that's become my recent favorite.

Little did I know, I was about to sit at Jesus’ feet.

As I turned the pages, I met two women who felt strangely familiar — not because I had read about Mary and Martha before, but because I was both of them. Martha, bustling around with a to-do list that could compete with a storm, and Mary, longing to pause, to breathe, to be still and soak in presence — His presence.

Joanna Weaver didn’t just tell the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10. She invited me into it. With grace and gentle humor, she unpacked the tension many women live with: the struggle between service and devotion, between doing for Jesus and being with Him.

She described Martha’s world perfectly — a world of expectations, responsibilities, constant motion — and then introduced Mary’s heart, the kind Jesus praised: quiet, receptive, surrendered. And through each chapter, Weaver whispered, You’re invited to both: to serve with joy like Martha, but from a heart centered like Mary’s.

There were moments I wept — when she shared how God isn’t impressed by our frantic doing but deeply desires our undivided attention. Other times I laughed, recognizing myself in the humorous stories she told from her own life as a wife, mother, and perfectionist. But what gripped me most was the chapter on the "Living Room Intimacy with Kitchen Service" — a concept I never thought possible. Weaver taught me that I didn’t have to choose one over the other. I could be in the kitchen, answering emails, attending meetings, raising kids, and still have my heart anchored at His feet.

Her reflections are laced with Scripture, soul-searching questions, and practical wisdom — not just for individuals but for group study too. She offers guidance for inner transformation, not external performance.

As I closed the book, I didn’t feel like I had read another Christian self-help manual. I felt like I had been mentored. Like I had journeyed with a sister who knew the pull of the busy life but chose the better part. And now, each time I sense my “Martha” rising, I remember Joanna’s invitation: Sit down. Look up. Listen. There’s space at His feet for you too.

‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. 𝓐𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓮  ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.

---

💡 Reflection Question

Is my heart more like Martha’s — busy, anxious, and distracted — or like Mary’s — still, attentive, and at peace?