Martha Musings
We women of the household are so alike as far as yearning for external or at least visual validation of our labor goes—cleared-off desks, piles of wrapped gifts. But the quotidian nature of our lives means such validation comes rarely, and when it comes, it is definitely fleeting. Unlike an engineer’s or a builder’s accomplishments—perhaps a bridge or a house or a plane—which can last for a generation or two, or even longer, our accomplishments last no longer than the vaporous clouds in the sky. Desks, sinks, and diapers fill back up; tummies that were satisfied only a few hours ago are rumbling again. The sage proclaimed, “All is vanity.” Yet the work is there and must be done, even though our sense of satisfaction is so tenuous.
So the secret must lie in the “how”: how is the work done? With a Martha spirit of resentment or a Mary heart of contentment?
Audora Burg is the copy editor for Touchstone.
subscription options
Order
Print/Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Order
Online Only
Subscription
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
31.5—September/October 2018
The Rise of the Gnostic Liberal State After Christianity by Andrew Latham
27.4—July/August 2014
The Bible, Sacred Theology & the Mind of Christ by Patrick Henry Reardon
11.5—September/October 1998
Speaking the Truths Only the Imagination May Grasp
An Essay on Myth & 'Real Life' by Stratford Caldecott
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
