Undivided Attention  
Luke 10:38-42
Illustration
by David R. Cartwright

Pastor David Cartwright tells this story about his daughter and homework. He says, back when our daughter, Megan, was in high school, she was trying to write a paper for her English class. She was experiencing what is known as "writer's block." I watched her pace up and down the family room, working herself up into quite a frenzy. Finally, she came over to me and said, "Dad, I just can't think of anything to write. How do you do it week after week?" I looked at her and said, "Well, first of all, I've found that it's helpful to sit down in front of the typewriter." She replied, "Oh, Daddy, that's no help!" I said, "You asked me for my advice, and I gave you the best I had." Not too much time went by before I saw her sitting down at the typewriter working away on what turned out to be a prize-winning essay. It worked.

The only way Mary could learn what Jesus had to say was to sit down and give him her undivided attention.

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (First Third): Guided by the Spirit, by David R. Cartwright