Heart of a Woman!

Martha, dear Martha, you are fussing far too much, and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it – it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her. Luke 10:41-42

Apparently, the month of March has been set aside by Congress to recognize and celebrate the contributions of women throughout history and today. My understanding is that it is a time to honor women and organizations who work for basic equality and fairness. Although, it seems that I am totally out of the loop on these things, it couldn’t have come at a better time for me to use this platform to raise a little awareness of women and their role in the lives of their families and friends.

Women are everywhere throughout the Bible, but there is a special story in the Book of Luke. In Chapter 10, Jesus and His disciples enter a village where we find the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha, who opened their home to the weary travelers. The two sisters are very different, as not only sisters, but also women tend to be. Martha is the hostess who hurries around making sure that the house is clean, the table is set, the food is prepared, the chairs are comfortable, the decorations perfect, and the guests feel welcome and comfortable. She is the one who prepares and takes care of everything. Mary, on the other hand, simply positions herself at the feet of Jesus and listens.

Both of these women are valuable, and Jesus never condemned either one, but He did remind Martha that she was “fussing far too much”, and she could possibly be finding herself “distracted, worried and upset by things that aren’t that important”. Mary took the time to put aside the distractions and listen to the important things Jesus had to say.

We women have had and will continue to have great opportunites, responsibilities, and duties in this world. We are strong in our committments to our families, our friends, our church, our community, and our God, but sometimes we forget to remember that we are also human. There are times when we are so busy caring for and doing for others that we forget to listen to our own bodies and minds when something “just doesn’t feel right.”

With this in mind, listen to this synopsis of my recent experience with “listening”. On December 9 of this year while attending a choir performance, I stood to sing and realized, I couldn’t catch my breath. Women don’t let this affect them, and I pushed through and went on. Fortunately, the impact was so frightening that I made an appointment with my primary care doctor who referred me to my cardiologist. After several tests, which revealed a problem, I had a heart cartherization that resulted in two stents being placed in a main artery which had two different blockages of seventy five per cent each.

During recovery, the cardiac care ambassador came to sit down and talk with me. As it turns out, Mary (note the name) was a former member of our church and Randy had baptized both of her children. We caught up, and she showed me diagrams of my heart while we discussed the God given gift I had just been given to live another day and share the importance of “listening” when He gives us warning signs.

Mary challenged me to make others aware by saying, “If you can make one woman aware of her heart and the warning signs that might save her life, then your experience will have made a difference.” If you read this and think, “Sometimes I just don’t feel right” and puruse answers, then I’ve done my job!

The end of my story is a good one. During my post cardio visit, I asked the doctor, “So, where do I go from here?” She said, “Go and live your best life!” The heart of a woman is full of so much love, compassion, strength, caring, service, and fortitude! Just like Mary, we just need to take the time to listen to our heart and go and live our best life!

Jesus would remind us not to fuss about things that aren’t important, but rather to be still and listen.

My sincere gratitude to my doctors, the amazing cardiac nursing team of incredible women, and all those who helped us through this journey!