Martha Stewart Anonymous
Hi, my name is Tracy and I subscribe to Martha Stewart Living. I have now for 8+ years and I still have each copy. This magazine came along at a time in society when we stopped having people over to hang-out and started 'Entertaining'. I grew up in a home where we never Entertained. We didn't have 3 different sets of china, iced-tea spoons, or pickle forks - heck, we didn't even have salad forks half the time. No one cared if the tablecloth matched the dishes. Our parties didn't have themes. Everything was very casual, realxed and apparently pretty tacky, too. And along came Martha with her beautifully decorated tables and equally beautiful food that tasted good too. Since I had never really had any formal (or informal) kitchen training from mom, other than how to make Grandma's chocolate chip cookies, I quickly became a willing pupil of this self-appointed homemaking guru. I loved receiving each issue and would read the articles and drool over (be jealous of) the decorating, food items and overall togetherness of this type of life. My woven bracelet would have read "WWMD".
But attaining that level of perfection in one's home & cooking was pretty beyond me. Instead of being inspired by her glossy photos, and later tv show, I would become frustrated and discontent. I think it's no simple coincidence that her name is Martha. I've heard it taught about the passage in Luke that the preparations Martha was attending to when Jesus and company visited were necessary, but she became myopic in her desire to get everything prepared. In a sense she forgot the heart of having people in her home to break bread and share life, and became overly concerned with the preparations themselves. Mary wasn't "better" for not having done the domestic duties, but she had the right overall focus - on Jesus. The food, etc. was secondary. How often have I been reminded of this. I get myself all stressed-out because the food isn't getting done on time, or the house isn't as clean as I'd like, and I stop. I talk to God and remember that the reason the people are coming over is to spend time with us, and we are equally interested in seeing them. I shift my focus from the preparations to the people and what I like about each person and what we could talk about. I stop worrying that my green beans aren't perfectly blanched, and know that no one will really notice if I've had to replace the sherry vinegar from the recipe with whatever vinegar I have on hand. Perfection - whether it's in parenting or domestic duties - isn't what God is asking from us. What he wants is my heart and that it reflect His.
Yes, I still own those magazines, and I still receive a subscription. But I now view it all as more of a reference tool - an Encyclopedia of sorts. Sometimes I pick up an old one and see a good (& simple) recipe that might be fun to try, or read about how to care for my butcher block counter top. But, I'm able to put it back and know that even if I don't get to these things, life is still good. My sister came over last night and I was making a Martha recipe as one of the side dishes. I didn't have a few of the ingredients, so I had to come up with alternatives to make it work. Everyone enjoyed it, and it may have even been better that way. More importantly I didn't get myself all concerned with the food, how would it reflect on me, etc. It's food - we eat it. The best part of the evening was catching up with my sis and watching her play with her nephew. I'm reminded of Proverbs: "Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred". My home certainly won't be know for pefect meals of 'fattned calves', but hopefully there will be love.
But attaining that level of perfection in one's home & cooking was pretty beyond me. Instead of being inspired by her glossy photos, and later tv show, I would become frustrated and discontent. I think it's no simple coincidence that her name is Martha. I've heard it taught about the passage in Luke that the preparations Martha was attending to when Jesus and company visited were necessary, but she became myopic in her desire to get everything prepared. In a sense she forgot the heart of having people in her home to break bread and share life, and became overly concerned with the preparations themselves. Mary wasn't "better" for not having done the domestic duties, but she had the right overall focus - on Jesus. The food, etc. was secondary. How often have I been reminded of this. I get myself all stressed-out because the food isn't getting done on time, or the house isn't as clean as I'd like, and I stop. I talk to God and remember that the reason the people are coming over is to spend time with us, and we are equally interested in seeing them. I shift my focus from the preparations to the people and what I like about each person and what we could talk about. I stop worrying that my green beans aren't perfectly blanched, and know that no one will really notice if I've had to replace the sherry vinegar from the recipe with whatever vinegar I have on hand. Perfection - whether it's in parenting or domestic duties - isn't what God is asking from us. What he wants is my heart and that it reflect His.
Yes, I still own those magazines, and I still receive a subscription. But I now view it all as more of a reference tool - an Encyclopedia of sorts. Sometimes I pick up an old one and see a good (& simple) recipe that might be fun to try, or read about how to care for my butcher block counter top. But, I'm able to put it back and know that even if I don't get to these things, life is still good. My sister came over last night and I was making a Martha recipe as one of the side dishes. I didn't have a few of the ingredients, so I had to come up with alternatives to make it work. Everyone enjoyed it, and it may have even been better that way. More importantly I didn't get myself all concerned with the food, how would it reflect on me, etc. It's food - we eat it. The best part of the evening was catching up with my sis and watching her play with her nephew. I'm reminded of Proverbs: "Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred". My home certainly won't be know for pefect meals of 'fattned calves', but hopefully there will be love.
posted by blueyedtracy at
6:48 AM
2 Comments:
Amen! Preach, preach, preach! I completely identify.
By
Jana, at 10:14 AM
Dearest Trac,
You may not remember this, but the very first time you and your husband had us over was years ago when you were living in a little apartment in the valley. I'll never forget that you served flour tortilla burritos on plain white plates (so it was white on white) on a white tablecloth with white paper napkins. There was one burrito on each plate and I think maybe a jar of salsa in the middle of the table. For dessert, you had those little shortcakes from the store with sliced strawberries and a can of Ready Whip on the table. It was all SO cute and simple! Everything tasted great and we had such a good time getting to know you and I remember thinking at the time something to the effect of 'HOW GREAT and refreshing that not everyone feels like they have to have fresh herbs, the appropriate wine, coordinating table linens, plate chargers and a perfectly balanced avory vs. sweet menu in order to have guests over!' : ) In the years I've known you since then I've come to learn and deeply appreciate that you are both a classy lady and a down to earth one...you have very good taste and are well read and generally 'up on things' but aren't going to be disappointed or thrown by anything in life that's not Martha Stewartized! The single white burritos on the little white plates will always be a favorite blue-eyed Tracy memory for me! : )
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Anonymous, at 5:38 PM
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