We walked down the aisle of the church. Feet bare. Souls yearning. Looking up towards the cross. The quietness of our feet followed by the waiting. Waiting for our turn to sit and be served. It was my turn. A lady I had never laid eyes on put her hands on my dirty feet. She didn't turn away. The water gently poured over the dirt . It was hard to look her in the eyes knowing she had seen the part of me that I keep hidden in a cute pair of Toms. The part of me that is usually dirty because I am not a shoe person at home. And I am not a clean person either. She saw it and I was naked, exposed. As I stood to take a turn washing my daughters feet, she looked me straight in the eyes and said "God's peace." And I felt known and loved. My now 5 year old sits there waiting for me to pour the water on her little feet. I never really look at them. I did tonight. They were beautiful feet. Reminding me of the hospital with her little scar from the shots. Such a pureness in her smooth soles. She looked up at me with her bright eyes saying everything without saying anything at all. And I knew. This was nothing new for her. She knows my hands well. She is known and loved every day by those 2 hands.
Bella Grace stood and took the towel ready to wash someone's feet. I looked up. Her eyes looked right at me and it was her. The woman who for the last 3 months has helped bring me closer to the very heart of God. And now my daughters hands will be an instrument of mercy to her. In her wisdom and grace, she says, "I feel God loving me with these 2 hands." I know this woman and her story. I know my story. And I don't doubt that God wanted us all right where we were tonight. He wanted me to know and feel love even in the midst of my dirt. He wanted to remind me that my hands do matter. And He wanted to reveal Himself even through a little child. "From the lips (hands) of children and infants, you have ordained praise."
Whose feet did you wash today? Everyday? God redeems the broken and dirty. Come to His table and be satisfied.
{My friends Lindsay (in the previous post) washes the feet of her neighbors everyday. Here is one cutie neighbor enjoying the fruits of her love.}
