What Micah 6:8 means for moms | Christie Thomas

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I’ve been feeling spiritually dry recently.

I’m sure it has a lot to do with the fact that schedules are changing around here – Dodger has given up his afternoon nap so my at-home afternoons are no longer as quiet as they used to be. Going back to work in April has also been a challenge because our office space has changed: I used to have a room near the back where I could shut the door and pray in peace, and now I have a shared office with a giant window that’s right off the main area.

Not that those are insurmountable odds, but it makes spending time in private prayer and the Word a little more challenging to work into my schedule.

I imagine there are others of you who struggle with the same thing, no matter what kind of life you lead! For some reason, what is good for me is just not what comes easily to me!
(Too bad. I would love it if salads tasted like ice cream…)

But in the most unexpected place possible, God reminded me of all I need to do. I was at Zumba. (Yup, shaking my butt in the back row.) Surprisingly, the woman in front of me was wearing a shirt with an abbreviated version of Micah 6:8 on it.

He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? But to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.

Do justice.
Love mercy.
Walk humbly.

I felt God reminding me that in the middle of this crazy season of life, where I’m trying to juggle 3 boys, a home, and a job that easily strays out of its limits, these are the MOST IMPORTANT things I needed to focus on.

I need to do justice in my home. 

That means paying attention to my boys so that they feel like their mom is a just judge.

It also means showing them, by example, that those weaker than us are always to be treated with dignity and respect, not yelled at or taken advantage of just because they are weaker than us.

I feel that as the mother of white, middle-class males, I have a huge responsibility in this area, to make sure that they also grow up doing justice and speaking on behalf of the downtrodden.

Related: Talking about racism with kids

I need to love mercy in my home. 

I don’t know about you, but I find it easy to be harsh, especially when I’m tired. I always thought of myself as an extremely merciful person…until I had kids!

They are teaching me what it really means to be a merciful mom, and a merciful human being…and that apparently I need to start drinking coffee on a regular basis.

Related: When a mommy gets angry

I need to walk humbly with my God. 

To me, this means remembering to seek his wisdom when I just don’t know how to do this parenting thing. Trying to navigate the strange waters of boys doing such gross boy things and babies who never seem content and preschoolers with nightmares comes with a steep learning curve! I need help! And I must remember to ask for it.

I also need to remember to be humble with my husband and children.

• I don’t know it all.
• My rules are sometimes stupid.
• I get angry about inane things like squeaky toys (but in my defense, whoever invented those things has obviously never test-run them on a preschooler!).

I apologize to my children on a fairly regular basis, and I don’t do it nearly as often as I should.

I needed to give myself a daily reminder of this verse, so I posted myself some sticky notes on the cupboards.

If you’re currently struggling to live out your faith in your family, please check out my free downloadable guide to help you embrace the small changes that make a big difference!