Pondering Feet.

Jesus washed feet. And, he asks us to do the same. That was the lesson of the day today in CompassKIDS, and it has been on my mind all day. So what better topic for today's blog entry than to do a little thinking and reflecting on what we can learn from feet. First, I made a little promise that this picture of a friend's feet would debut on the blog.....so here you go, Chad! You have to love a pastor who is willing to have his feet photographed ..... and they are very well manicured, I must say! Most people who were able to identify these as Chad's feet said it was the toes that gave it away....so we'll leave it at that! Thanks, Chad, for playing along and being such a good sport.

Feet. I don't really necessarily like the looks of feet, especially in the winter time. However, I always love it when barefoot weather returns to Michigan and I can resume my tendency to go either barefoot or in sandals or flip-flops until the next snow hits. My feet are very ticklish, which makes for some interesting tickle matches when my husband holds me down and tickles my feet.....even the hint that somebody is going to touch my feet is enough to make me start giggling! While most people would consider a pedicure to be a pampering treat, it takes a very good pedicurist with a firm touch to lure me into the pedicurist's chair. While I don't necessarily like feet in themselves, they serve a very utilitarian purpose in our lives. They carry us to where we need to be. They allow us to complete the tasks of our day. However, we don't rely on our feet nearly as much as people in history had to.

Let's think about this for a moment. In Biblical times, people relied on their feet as their main means of transportation. People walked for very long distances and often did so either with simple sandals or bare feet. They walked dirty and treacherous terrain; that included dust and mud and thorns and animal dung and who knows what other nasty substances; when they arrived at their destinations, their feet were undoubtedly filthy and stinky and right-down disgusting. Crusted mud. Smeared feces. Think the bottom of a pair of barn boots fresh from an animal's stall, and that's probably the kind of feet we were talking about. Enter Jesus. A king. The son of God. What better way for Jesus to give us a picture of a servant-leader, a leader of the people, than to wash feet. Today, I was privileged to work with a group of kids who participated in an illustration of Jesus washing feet. Granted, the "dirt" on their feet consisted of chocolate pudding, which, by the way, got on their feet when they were challenged to use their toes to find the gummy bears swimming in the pudding. Below, you see a picture of my daughter with her pudding-covered feet, as another student is cleaning her feet with clear water and a towel.

What a powerful picture of servanthood that is. Not just serving in a way that puts us in the spotlight, but finding the dirty job, the job that noone else wants to do, and doing it in Jesus' name. I'll admit, I like to receive credit when I have worked hard. I like to hear words of encouragement and affirmation. However, Jesus calls us to serve even--and ESPECIALLY--in those times where the job is dirty and the thanks is non-existent.

So, today, I have been challenged with this question: How can I wash feet? How can I apply this lesson to my life in 2007? People don't typically arrive in my home with dirt and feces crusted on their feet, but I'll tell you this: They do arrive with a lot of emotional and psychological "dirt and dung" sticking to them. People in today's world carry a lot of hurt. They bear a lot of scars. So, one way that Jesus has shown me that I can "wash feet" is to do what I can to heal and build up people.....to allow God to work through me to wash away the dirt and grime from people's spirits. I can start with my own family, seeking ways to build them up, to encourage, to use words of affirmations, to overlook faults, and to find ways to help people to more fully embrace themselves as made in the image of our awesome Creator. I want to be known as a feet-washer who washes feet in Jesus' name. Challenge: So what can YOU do to wash feet?

The kids have school off tomorrow for President's Day so I'll be sleeping in a bit....Hooray! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday night and be sure to thank Jesus for showing us how to wash feet.