The mayor of small town in the USA stopped mowing his lawn in 2005. He put up a sign in his garden that read: ‘There are more important things in life than long grass.’

When his neighbours asked him why he had stopped cutting his grass, he said that his wife’s death from cancer had caused him to reassess his life’s priorities. He told them he would much prefer to sit on his porch in the evenings observing the wild flowers and squirrels and birds which had now started to come into his overgrown garden. A member of the city council remarked ‘If he likes it like that, fine. I kind of feel that maybe he is right. Perhaps there are more important things than mowing grass.’

This story gives us some food for thought about our priorities. What we do with our time reveals what we believe is important. In Luke’s gospel we read of a time when Jesus was the guest in the home of Martha and Mary. Martha busied herself making preparations for the meal, trying to ensure that her guests were well looked after. So intense was her activity that the Bible says she was ‘distracted with much serving’. (Luke 10:40). Tragically not only was her rushing around ‘distracting her’ but it was also depriving her of a most amazing opportunity to spend time with Jesus. Mary, on the other hand, took time to sit ’at Jesus’ feet’ and listen to His teaching. (Luke 10:39) Perhaps Mary realised that she wouldn’t have many more opportunities to learn from Jesus and the dishes could wait!

Summer months can be busy, with the result that too often Christians are ‘distracted’ and they spend less time at the feet of Jesus. But mowing lawns, working extra hours, making money is no substitute for the blessing of fellowshipping with the Lord and his people. This summer let’s make Mary our model and spend time with the Lord our family and our friends.

The missionary C.T. Studd wrote the following poem: