Foot washers?

         “We have all been called to be foot-washers.”  That phrase will more than likely make anyone cringe a little bit…if you look at it with your natural eyes. I remember hearing that for the first time and thinking “Really?? That’s kind of gross, I don’t know where their feet have been. No thanks, not for me.” Silly, but I can admit that I wasn’t on the same page as Jesus at that point. Not to change the meaning of it (because He clearly does call for us to literally wash feet at times) BUT, I’ve realized that it’s the symbolism of it that might be the most important part.

         In biblical times the act of foot-washing was reserved for the lowest of the servants. Peers didn’t wash each others feet, except very rarely and as a mark of great love.  John 12:26 says, “No servant is greater than his master.” If Jesus himself could lower himself to the lowest of the servants and wash His disciples feet, who are we to say that that is beneath us. I’m just human so I can never be equals with Christ, but we are still called to aim to be Christ-like. I can no longer look at anyone as less than me, after-all Jesus never did that. It’s time for me to get my hands dirty so to speak.

         I was raised knowing to respect my elders and I’d like to think that I still do that. Not just because it’s what my parents taught me but because I know that it is the right thing to do. However not until recently have I began exploring the idea of servant-hood. That is sort of a dirty word, you never hear it mentioned an awful lot but it’s key. As a child I’m called to respect, honor and serve my parents. I think that growing up I was fairly good and two out of the three. Serving to me always made me think of waiters and I absolutely didn’t want to be doing that in our house growing up. My regular “chores” were hard enough and I’m supposed to add to that and do things that I wasn’t expected to do? No thanks. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that my parents were and still are excellent examples of servants. They always put others first and even when they were tired they would push themselves a little farther to do something that they knew we would love. After a lot of prayer I’ve realized that it’s my turn to do that. And who better to learn from firsthand than my parents.                         

         The decision to move back to Kernersville wasn’t something that was easy to make or something that I ever saw happening, but I’m completely at peace with it. The thought of moving back into your parent’s house at 25 isn’t normally attached to great things. Most of the time you see this happening for reasons that might be somehow linked to failure. In the past when I’d thought about moving home I thought for sure that I could never do that. Going from a place of freedom to living under my parent’s roof and abiding by their rules will definitely be an adjustment. BUT I’m honestly excited about it! And because I’m excited about it I have to believe that that is God’s way of showing me that this has always been a part of His plan for me. This season of living in Boone has been nothing short of phenomenal. I’ve learned and grown so much and made some of the best and life-long friends I could have asked for. These are all friends that I know that I’ll keep up with no matter where I live 6 months or 6 years from now. They are people that have pushed me to be a woman that I’m proud of and to be a better woman that I could of ever thought possible. Moving to Kernersville is definitely going to be an adjustment but I’ve realized in the past week that it won’t be in the way that I originally thought. Yes, I’m going back to the town that raised me and to live around family that taught me so much, but I’m coming this time as a new/different person. It’s almost as if I’m looking at this as a redo. I get an awesome opportunity to go HOME and really love on my family, and learn from them. How cool is that?? I think that at my age I’m at a place where I can finally truly appreciate all of them for their hearts, gentle kindness, courage and so many other qualities that I’ve never expressed to them. The Lord has really shown me that I’m going to be able to play a key role in winning my family back over for the Kingdom. If I’m going to be helping orphans find families one day that’s something big that He’s trusting me with. And He can’t trust me with something big until I prove that I can handle something smaller. I ask that you please join me in prayer as I’m beginning to search for ways to reach out to certain family members. One word keeps popping up whenever I pray and talk about this move, LOVE, but isn’t the best way to reach the people closest to you is simply to just love them right where they are?