Feet

What is it about feet? I am not a fan of the foot. My brother is not either, so we had interesting fights as children. If we got into a particularly bad scuffle, the one of us who could get their shoe and sock off and touch the other one with bare foot skin would be the winner. We would be so grossed out that the fight would end immediately. (In answer to your question- YES, we are weird!)

When I had my children, I loved their little feet. There is something about baby feet that is wonderful. The chubby toes, the smell of lotion....MMMMM. I haven't quite figured out at what stage of life their feet transform into FEET. When do they go from something you want to stick in your mouth and nibble on the toes to something you want to cover with shoes and socks? It doesn't have anything to do with love either. I still enjoy caressing my son's feet (he's 6), but I would prefer my husband wear socks to bed every night just in case....ewww!

Feet are functional . They make us mobile. They provide us with a foundation. Without them, life is very difficult. Take away feet and it makes it much harder to move forward and fulfill our purpose.

Being raised in the Methodist church, we did not observe footwashing as a sacrament. I didn't know much about the whole process or the meaning behind it. When I began attending the Mennonite Church, I got a crash course. For the first few years, I was able to avoid the footwashing ceremonies performed at our church. I could come up with excuses to be somewhere else. Then, one day, I couldn't avoid it. There was no real reason I couldn't participate, other than the fact that it was like competing on Fear Factor for me (and that's not a good enough reason!)....so I did it.

WOW! When you realize that footwashing is the ultimate form of servanthood, it really humbles your soul. When it was explained to me that not even SERVANTS in Jesus' time were required by their masters to wash the feet of visitors, it really made an impact with me on how Jesus humbled himself to wash the feet of His disciples. Our Lord and Savior- the son of God Himself- did not feel too good to wash the dirt off of the feet of His followers.

The other thing that strikes home is knowing how GROSS those feet had to have been! When you walk everywhere, and you only have sandals, your feet are probably much grosser than modern day feet where there is a spa on every corner. These days you can pay someone (no amount of money would be enough for me!) to wash and pamper your feet. I was talked into a treating myself to a pedicure a few years ago. It was as hard for me to watch someone wash my feet as it was for me to actually provide the service for someone else in a church setting. I couldn't get over the guilt of making this poor woman kneel before me and be in the position to serve me for money. I think its safe to say, I won't be indulging in that ritual again.

I still don't like feet, and I am still reluctant to participate in footwashing at church, but if I close my eyes, realize the symbolism of it and try to appreciate the impact of the statement it makes, I can get through it. When I open my eyes, I can actually delight in the fact that I showed Jesus to another in a way that may be difficult, but it makes it all the more meaningful. Plus NOW I can win all those fights with my brother!