John 13: 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him….12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Blessed I am. I spent New Year’s Eve at Church and the first thing we did was wash each other’s feet! Now I know, a lot of people have a foot aversion. But when you think about why one chooses to perform this action… why Jesus did it for his disciples… it shows respect, equality, love. So how does it work? Great question! What you’ll need is a partner (same sex), a basin of water and a towel. I was honored to have the First Lady as my partner. First Lady went first because she’s seasoned (and a great leader). I placed my feet in the basin… she kneeled on the floor and began to pray for me. As she prayed aloud she cupped water into her hands and poured it over my feet and gently laid her hands on my feet and ankles as if she was delivering her words into my body. Now I have to be honest, I’m a beginner at prayer. And as much of an honor as it Is to have the First Lady pray for me and for me to hear and feel her love for me and God… I knew that I had to reciprocate that! My God! As I kneeled down to wash her feet, I tried to gather my thoughts and only hoped that the love and respect I have for her would show in my words.
I loved every second of it! At the end, one of the Mother’s of the Church (an elder) started to sing and following her lead the room full of woman broke out into song. Those moments were the most beautiful and peaceful that I have experienced in a long time. A room full of women connected… and it didn’t matter the age, or the circumstances they were dealing with… all that mattered was the love of God.
Service was next. The message was Speak Life! Ezekiel 37. Many times in life we find ourselves in bad situations. And we have a tendency to only focus on the negative. This act alone, doesn’t allow us to move forward, to overcome. But what if we trusted in the Lord? What if we truly understood that he was the one that gave us life? What if we understood that if we lived in his spirit (in his will) that we can overcome anything? No matter how dead the current circumstance is…God can give it life! Instead of speaking negativity, what if our minds focused on the things that would lead us to maturity, the positive thoughts that we could place on our hearts and others to make situations better. What if we allowed God to put his spirit in us? We would be alive… not just living day to day… but loving life and sharing in its joy.
So in every circumstance we should speak life! No matter what 2017 brings… speak life. Keep moving forward. Keep growing.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Thanks, I needed that!
Awesome Post! And so glad you got to experience the foot washing with First Lady!