The other day was one of the busiest days on record at the Ferguson house. Oddly enough, I found myself with a few queit moments as I waited to hurl myself into the next activity of the day. I stood in the middle of the house......quiet. EmmaLee was finishing her nap. The kids were out on the trampoline (so what if I strapped them down to the trampoline and locked all the doors). School was done. My chores were done. My knees went weak as I prepared for the Second Coming of Christ......it had to be the end of life as I knew it because this NEVER happens (especially on a day like today). I stood in the quiet wondering what in the world I do in this strange situation??
AHHH. Perfect. The Lord whispered His gentle voice to me. I grabbed my Bible anticipating what I might read in the few moments I had. I was doubtful that I would glean much in such a situation. I mean, the straps holding the kids down on the trampoline could give way at any moment. Nevertheless, I found myself in Micah. I have always love Micha 6:8, but I felt compelled to read all of chapter 6 on this day. So casually, I began to read.......
"With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, o man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (vs.6-8)
You know, once I write down my list of "To dos" for the day........you can bet that I am going to do whatever necessary to make sure I get them done. I live by lists and schedules that I have set up for myself. I have a strict chore schedule, I have a strict school schedule, I have a strict workout schedule. You know what else......I get REALLY tense when it looks like I am not staying on schedule for the day. You know what is even worse......I get REALLY proud when I get everything done on my schedule. Yikes. Here comes the painful part.....
Back to Micah. So, I realized as I read Micah, that I am measuring the success of my day all wrong. "With what shall I come before the Lord"......my completed schedules. "Shall I come before Him" with near perfect organization of a busy household and a mopped kitchen floor? "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands" of meals in my freezer and "ten thousand rivers of" sweat poured out on the treadmill? Is this what I bring to Him. Well, sadly, this was how I measured the success of my days.
Here I am.....still seeking to stay on schedule. But now I find so much more freedom in my schedules rather than the oppression that I was feeling through them. Freedom to serve the Lord by doing what He has called me to do. He has shown me what is good and what He requires of me. He has called me to be a wife and mother and being organized is helpful for me in that. But, checking things off of my "to do" list is not the measure of my success anymore. At the end of the day, have I done justly, have I loved to show mercy to my children, have I walked humbly in the service the Lord has called me to that day? There is the right measurement!
All that in a few quiet minutes on my busiest day. I love how the Lord works.
7 comments:
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Annie, I have never met you personally, but I am Ryan and Vicki's sister-in-law...the one that stayed in your home that you so graciously offered up last Christmas. I just saw your blog listed on Vicki's blog and thought I'd click on it (sorry for the nosey-ness). I wanted to let you know that I very much enjoyed reading your blog from Sunday. God is amazing in those small moments of quietness! Thank you for sharing your reading for that moment...I needed to be reminded of those verses from Micah. Have a blessed day.
Very nice blog! You should submit it to Guideposts magazine!
I had never read/noticed "the rest of Micah 6"... we all know the part about "to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God"... but the build up to that gives those three commandments much more impact.
Like you, I measure my days by checklists. Guess it's time to at least add 1) act justly, 2) love mercy and 3) walk humbly with our God to the to-do lists!
Dear Annie,
What an encouragement it was to read your Sunday's blog. Thank you! Dad and I have been especially claiming Micah 6:8 recently, and you have added to its dimension.
What a blessing it is to have the wife of our son and the mother of our grandchildren seeking and receiving strength and encouragement from our Great God, and sharing it with others!
We love you!
Mom
Wow, thanks Annie. I needed to hear these words. My life seems to take me by the legs and run no chance of making or checking list (even though I would love to). But for me, I have been so negative these days and measuring my shortcomings by not keeping on top of all these lists etc. (How sad:() I pray that we M.A.H.'s (Mothers at Home) remember these words when we are up to our ears with boring repetitive tasks.
your ears were burning on Thursday as Anne and I were talking about you and your blog. She loved what you wrote and so do I!
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