Crochet has long been a form of self care and creative expression for me. The repetitive motions of crochet are hugely beneficial and has a positive affect on our nervous systems–triggering a relaxation response and shifting us from fight or flight to a rest and digest state. And this is a wonderful thing for those who lead busy, stressful lives or who suffer from anxiety. It has certainly helped me cope through very difficult times in my own life. Of late, my life has been very hard. In the fall, I went back to working full time after five years of either not working thanks to mat leave or only working part time. I wasn’t fully ready to return to working full time, but our situation really required me to and so I did. And to say it has not been easy would be an understatement.
I’m not complaining. I knew it would be a huge adjustment. But I expected to adjust, and I haven’t yet. Not in a healthy, balanced way. I am much too much living in a state of always doing like Martha, and I do not spend enough time being like Mary. In the past, I would have said that I’m not spending enough time on self care. Today I can say, I don’t spend enough time with the Lord.
Sitting at the Lord’s Feet
Sitting at the Lord’s feet means that we prioritize devotion, learning and a relationship with the Lord over worldly busyness. Our lives can become overburdened with worldly things–work, cooking, cleaning, child minding, all the household tasks, all the appointments–these things require time, attention and energy. And often, we forget to sit and pause and just be. And if we forget to just sit for a moment, how much more often do we forget to sit at the Lord’s feet and simply be with Him? How much more often do we forget to pray or to ask for Him to strengthen us? Or simply to say, Jesus I thank you, Jesus I trust in you, Jesus I love you.
I forget all too often. I have goals of sitting more often with my Bible, of beginning to say the rosary again daily, of reading more about the saints–but I get caught up in everything else.
I know many of you can relate.
So many of us are Marthas. Always doing. Putting off rest and stretching ourselves just a little further. Putting off caring for our health because this week or this month there is just so much going on. Living in a constant state of high alert because there is so much to do.
But I want to live more like a Mary. The Lord Himself said Mary had the better part.
And of course she did. She was devotedly sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening Him teach, letting Him know that she loved Him.
Crochet to Calm the Mind and Sit with the Lord
I love crocheting. I crochet in the evenings and on weekends to help me unwind. It is very important rest for me. And of late, as I have sat and contemplated the over busy life habits that have crept their way into my life, that I should use this time for prayer.
Crochet leads itself well to prayer I think. Science has shown that the repetitive motions affect our nervous systems in positive ways–triggering that relaxation response, releasing feel good chemicals, inducing that flow state and stimulating both hemispheres of the brain which helps process stress. These measurable effects are similar to the effects of prayer on our nervous system–prayer has been shown to flip us out of fight or flight. It also is shown to deactivate the fear centre of the brain–which makes perfect sense, what do we have to fear when we have the Lord on our side?
Therefore, crochet can offer us the perfect time to sit with the Lord. Each crochet stitch can be a prayer–ask God to be with you, to strengthen you, ask for forgiveness for your sins, pray for others. Each stitch can be a prayer of thanks for the blessings in our lives–food, a safe home, good health, a happy marriage. You can say prayers you learned as a child as you stitch along, or even use the time to listen to the Bible in audio format.
You would be acting more like Mary, spending time with the Lord.
But you would also be doing something for the home as you make that blanket, or those dishcloths or the stuffed toy for your child. Or even a sweater or tee for yourself.
Martha and Mary balanced.
This is the path I’m going to focus on taking over the next few weeks and months. Because I cannot go on at break neck speed.
Nor can any of us.
Let’s find the way to sit more often at the Lord’s feet.
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