Episode 17 - America's Homemaking Queen: Martha Stewart and Her Incredible Comeback

First off, you may notice that I skipped episodes 15 (J.K. Rowling) and 16 (Lisa Ling & Apes). This is hopefully temporary, but I promised my husband that I would never let this blog take over my life or become a source of undue stress. Have you seen Julie & Julia, where her blog becomes a source of tension that allows death and dispute to creep into her marriage and life? We both agree that we don't want to see that in our life because of a blog! I hope to honor and serve you, my readers, by being consistent and dedicated but I also must balance the truth that I have a calling and a life to live and keep this blog in its God-honoring, properly prioritized place which means it comes after my relationship with Jesus, my role as a wife and soon-to-be mother, and as a Christian involved in community who are my family.

I've been trying to catch up but yesterday was filled with getting back to life after vacation and today I had the chance to spend quality time with a dear friend and I couldn't kick her out of my house so I could write a blog. But I'm hoping to catch up, and when I do I'll post them under their original date but note for you in the most recent post that they're there and link to them :)

Ok, onto today's episode. Mrs. Martha Stewart.

Martha Stewart

Recap
Martha Stewart is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. Right off the bat, she and Oprah discuss the prison issue. Martha says she was hurt and angry, but never humiliated. She talks about what she did in prison- waxed the floors, cleaned the waxer, and made ceramic figurines of the nativity scene. She says that there were some very nice visits, and later she discusses how painful it was that her best friend of 20 years testified against her and wrote an unflattering book about her. There's a sense of humility when she says that it was painful, that it's hard to not have any contact with that friend anymore, but that you never know what that person is going through, what pressure they are under, and you have to move on without bitterness.


Later, she discusses the fact that though her stock took a huge hit, generally the trial brought her out better because it was a test and she came out realizing how strong she is. Oprah brings out a picture of Martha at 16 and asks what she would tell her younger self. Martha says she'd tell her to stay curious, to always look to the future, and to try to be very passionate in life. 


After a break Martha makes some tasty, tasty looking grilled sandwiches. There are incredible ingredients--sage, apple, mustard, bacon, cheddar, cucumber, fontina, red onion, pickles, etc. Yum. They also make some drinks, and I am reminded why so many people love Martha-- the lady knows her stuff! We get to see clips from her amazing home in Maine, everything from tasty blueberry pie to flower arrangements and the beautiful woodsy lands. After another break, I was super jealous because I love making cards and Martha has the most amazing tools and ideas for card making. It makes me really want to go buy some of her stuff. I guess there's a reason why it's a $32 billion a year industry!


We see a woman named Jeniffer whose husband died from cancer five years ago. She describes seeing Martha in her difficult time with prison and how Martha's strength inspired her to be strong and press on. She gets to meet Martha and thanks her for her strength; Martha acknowledges that Jennifer's trial was much more difficult. Then we move onto learning how to fold a fitted sheet (if you watched, am I the only one who didn't get it still?) and saw a lovely gift basket that includes things she says she made herself. After a break the entire audience gets a gift of all of Martha's crafting tools available at Michael's. Lovely!

Gospel Filter Review
To be quite honest, I wasn't sure what to filter from this episode. I tried last night to force something, and it just felt wrong, so I prayed about it and felt led to sleep on it and come back tomorrow (so, today). I read some incredibly refreshing and amazing scripture this morning in Romans and it really spoke to me and brought to mind something that stuck with me from the episode. 


As I noted, there was a woman whose husband, who sounded like a wonderful man, died of cancer right about the time Martha was going through her trial and prison time. The woman, Jennifer, felt Martha conducted herself with such strength and poise that it inspired her to stay strong and endure through the loss of her husband and transition to widow and single motherhood. The way she thanked Martha made me so sad--we can certainly be inpsired by others (remember how, in this post, I pointed to the sermon about how greatness inspires greatness, and it brings joy to God the Father when we strive to be our best for His glory?), but this woman looked to Martha for something that only Jesus can give. Only Jesus can bring us true hope, can minister to us in our grief, can empower us with His Holy Spirit to endure. 


The scripture from Romans that captured me was this:


“None is righteous, no, not one;
       no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
        “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
         in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
      “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
               Romans 3:10-18


It may not seem related, but it is. Kudos to Martha Stewart for enduring and not staying knocked down. Yet these verses make it clear that she can be no one's source of hope. No person can!  As one who it appears does not have living faith in Jesus as her savior (particularly because she says nothing of Him being her source of strength throughout her trial, rather her finding strength deep within herself of her own accord), Martha Stewart should not be where anyone turns in time of need. There is only One who is our ever present help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16), and the Romans 3 verses make it clear that we need Him all the time. No human being should ever be who we look to for our strength; they can inspire us, point us to Jesus to seek Him to minister to us as He has ministered to them, but there is no goodness in any person, particularly someone not living for God's glory, that we should model our lives after.

I'll repeat this, as I feel it's the most emphatic point--people can inspire us. We can see aspects of someone's life that inspires us to want what they have. But always--ALWAYS--it should be in such a way that we turn to Jesus and seek Him, desiring His will and His glory in our life. We must reject this idea that there's some innate, good strength in Martha that others would be inspired to search out in themselves, and redeem it. The truth is that Jesus Christ is our hope, and no good is in us but He grants us His goodness and His righteousness for His glory and the glory of the Father.

Up Tomorrow
The Mom With 20 Personalities