There is a phrase Jesus uses that lingers long after the story ends.
“The better part.”
It is not loud.
It is not impressive.
It does not multitask well.
And yet, Jesus says it will not be taken away.
As this first week of the year closes, I am sitting with that phrase and asking what it looks like in a real, full, responsible life. Not as escape, but as alignment.
When Faith and Creativity Are Touched First
When I hear “the better part,” it immediately touches my faith and my creativity. Those are the places where presence matters most and performance does the most damage. They are also the places where I am most tempted to substitute effort for trust.
In Luke 10:38–42, Martha is busy doing good things, while Mary chooses to sit and listen. Jesus does not criticize service. He names priority. “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Writer Frederick Buechner once said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Faith and creativity are that meeting place for me. They cannot thrive when I am rushing past presence.
Obedience as Listening in Action
To me, sitting at Jesus’ feet looks like listening and then moving accordingly. Not passivity. Not withdrawal. Obedience. Faith in action. Including God in the equation before I act, not after I am already exhausted.
I drift into Martha-mode when I rely on my own strength and skip prayer. When I try to manage outcomes instead of inviting God into the process. Psalm 127 reminds me, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). That verse does not condemn effort. It clarifies source.
Spiritual writer Eugene Peterson once wrote, “Obedience is not a short sprint, but a long obedience in the same direction.” Listening first is what keeps the direction true.
Soul Insights
1. The better part is not inactivity, it is attentiveness.
Mary’s choice was not about withdrawing from responsibility. It was about choosing presence before productivity. Attentiveness allows the heart to be formed before the hands are busy. Without that formation, even good work can become heavy and disconnected. The better part keeps the work rooted instead of rushed.
2. Martha-mode often begins when prayer is skipped.
I notice how quickly I rely on my own strength when I move into action without prayer. Tasks begin to multiply, urgency increases, and I start carrying more than I was meant to. Prayer does not slow the work down. It realigns the source from which the work flows. When God is included first, effort feels lighter and clearer.
3. Fear of being seen as irresponsible drives over-functioning.
Underneath my busyness is a fear of how I will be perceived. I worry that choosing presence will look like negligence or failure to others. That fear pushes me to overperform and overexplain. Over time, it replaces trust with self-protection. Naming this fear loosens its grip.
4. Trust leaves a memory in the body.
Moments of deep trust stay with me long after they pass. When I prayed boldly and watched God fulfill those prayers, like living in France, something settled inside me. Those experiences remind me that presence is not wasted time. They become anchors when fear resurfaces. Trust, once lived, becomes something I can return to.
5. Presence frees us from spiritual performance.
Jesus did not praise Mary for effort or output. He honored her choice to listen. Presence releases me from guilt, hustle, comparison, and the pressure to prove devotion. Faith was never meant to be demonstrated through exhaustion. The better part restores faith to relationship instead of performance.
Final Thoughts
The better part is not something we earn once and keep forever. It is something we choose again and again. It is presence over performance. Listening before labor. Trust before striving.
This week ends not with a checklist, but with an invitation.
Your Turn
Where are you being invited to choose presence instead of proving?
What might shift if listening came before doing?
A Gentle Companion
If this reflection resonates, my book 17 Syllables of Me was written from the same posture. Each poem offers a small pause, a place to sit with faith, creativity, and lived experience without rushing to perform or explain. It is meant to be opened slowly, revisited often, and read with the same attentiveness Jesus calls “the better part.”
Thank you for taking the time to read! 🤗
© 2026 Amelie Chambord
Soul Path Insights 
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