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The "Martha Stewart" Syndrome
Because we all have friends in our lives who seem to have a knack for creating a wonderful atmosphere around them, we sometimes think we must also have that same ability or we've failed. A friend with two small toddlers at home emailed me this letter to help us both lighten up a bit on our own expectations:
A Letter from Martha Stewart!
Monday, 9:00am
Hi, Sandy:
This perfectly delightful note is being sent on paper I made myself to tell you what I have been up to. Since it snowed last night, I got up early and made a sled with old barn wood and a glue gun. I hand painted it in gold leaf, got out my loom, and made a blanket in peaches and mauves. Then, to make the sled complete, I made a white horse to pull it from some DNA I just had sitting around my craft room. By then it was time to start making the place mats and napkins for my 20 breakfast guests. I'm serving the old standard Stewart 12-course breakfast, but I'll let you in on a little secret: I didn't have time to make the table and chairs this morning; I used the ones I had on hand. Before I moved the table into the dining room, I decided to add just a touch of the holidays. So I repainted the room in pinks and stenciled gold stars on the ceiling.
Then, while the homemade bread was rising, I took the antique candle molds and made the dishes to use for breakfast. These were made from Hungarian clay, which you can get in almost any Hungarian craft store. Well, I must run. I need to finish the buttonholes for the dress I'm wearing for breakfast...
Love, Martha
I don't know who wrote this original caricature of Martha, but the author understood the "Martha Stewart" syndrome oh high expectations we all experience...The bigger question is: Why do we, as women, feel bad about ourselves when we see a woman using her God-given gifts and talents well? Why do we sometimes feel that if we are not doing the same thing in the same way, we must be a failure? Why do some of us fall into a pattern of jealousy or, worse, apathy, if our life isn't what we see in others' lives? Decide to decide that you will not fall prey to the negative but rather choose to make some positive changes to gain the life you have always dreamed of, or, better yet, the one God has dreamed up for you!
(A couple of pages later Farrel gives an really good answer to a question you may be thinking about right about now: what is the life God dreamed up for me? how do I know what He thinks is significant for me to be doing?)
We Are More than a Resume
... A significant woman bases her identity on who God says she is, and she is committed to do nothing more and nothing less than what her identity demands. In other words, as I line up my thoughts to Gods thoughts about me, I will become a woman He can use. When I see my self through His eyes, I realize my value. I am nothing more than a woman saved by His grace, but I am nothing less than a new creation.
When I see myself through God's eyes, I realize His plan for me is found only in obedience. I am nothing more than a servant and am nothing less than an ambassador. I'm not the master, so I don't make up the rules. There is one God, and it's not me! All that He requires from a servant is obedience- there is nothing more I can add. Being an ambassador opens up opportunities. The more God can trust me, the He will entrust to me. So anything less than obedience means I risk missing out on precious pieces of His plan for me.
When I see myself through God's eyes, I realize my calling and that He has a unique place for me. If I am driven to do more than my calling, then I'm not being the me God designed. If I am so busy trying to be someone else, then who is being me? If in fear I do less than my calling, I miss out on the adventure of being me. Nothing more and nothing less will gain God's applause for me. Decide to make the decision: God, I will be whom You created me to be. Nothing more, nothing less, than being the best possible unique me! I am deciding to line my life up with Your view of me. I choose a connection with You so I can connect to what You have for me.
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I was encouraged reading these words this morning so I thought I would share them... I literally laughed out loud again as I typed that Martha letter on here. The passage came out of the first chapter of The 10 Best Decisions a Woman Can Make: Finding Your Place in God's Plan by Pam Farrel (I am sure many of you have heard of this book if not already read it) but it has been sitting on my bookshelf for what seems like forever and I finally brought it down to read. The emphasis above was my own.
This is the most you'll see me looking like Martha Stewart (at least in the kitchen). This was at Thanksgiving last year and that is my dad in the background helping me out with dinner.
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