The Struggle between Mary and Martha

I have always been drawn to the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha in the Bible.(Luke 10:38-42).  I can remember reading it as a kid and trying to figure out if I was like Mary or Martha. For a while I thought I was more like Mary because homemaking was never going to be my thing. My sister was the one who cooked and cleaned and such. Where I was the one who would  rather visit  than do any work. This was my interpretation as a kid. As I've gotten older, I keep coming back to this story trying to figure out who I am in it. Am I Mary who sits at Jesus' feet or Martha who is trying to feed Jesus? I come back to this a lot in ministry and trying to find my place to serve.
I have worked with kid in youth for the past 6 years in some way or the other. I started out volunteering some with a middle school group that was just starting out. The kids came from different backgrounds of my own. They lived in a hotel that had been turned into a weekly rental. Their whole families were living in one room with no kitchen. It was just me and the youth pastor and we had maybe 10 kids on a good day.  Now I am volunteering with mostly high school youth that come from homes very similar to what I grew up in. My husband and I both volunteer and there are usually at least 3 other couples that work with them too. Our group usually has about 25-30 kids. While these groups were very different, I still struggled with this same Mary and Martha problem. Do I busy myself with feeding the kids and making sure everything is going on track or do I busy myself with spending time with the kids? It is easier now that there are more adults to help with those things but I still struggle with feeling that I need to be in the kitchen. But I know in my heart that relationships are the key to ministry. That I need to spend time with the kids I'm in ministry in with. I hope I'm not alone in this struggle to find a balance between my hands and my heart. This is a struggle I face in not just ministry but in my home life as well. There are always chores to be done around the house. Things I never worried about before getting married. It was my house and if I left it messy, it didn't affect anyone else. Sometimes, I have to think spending quality time with my husband is more important than a clean house.

So this week I'm going to try to remember what Jesus told Martha and to choose the better part. 

I would love to hear about your Mary and Martha struggle.