A Revelation About Feet

I have taken for granted the ability I have every day to step out of my bed, onto soft carpet, and walk to wherever I feel the need to go. Not because I take for granted my comfy bed, soft carpet, or climate-controlled home. But because I take for granted feet. Well, that is, until recently.


Many of you know that I have been "laid up" for a couple of weeks following a simple foot surgery. During this time period, I discovered how much walking I do in a day. It had become, at one point, torturous to walk from my recliner to the bathroom, because of the incredible pain in said foot. At night, I couldn't find a comfortable position to lie down in because of the pain. I had numbness and tingling for a few days, and swelling for several days. I realized that I depended an awful lot on my two feet. And even though I still had one fully operational foot, it seemed that the pair was doomed for failure as long as one of the two was inoperable.

I had a pair of crutches that I relied heavily on for a few days and I managed to find a way to scoot around as I needed to. I had friends coming to bring me dinner and offering to clean my house and drive me to here and there so that I could give my poor foot time to heal. While I greatly appreciated all the efforts made by my friends, my husband, and my kids, my heart yearned to be free. Oh, how I wanted to run and jump and dance! I was even looking forward to the days of standing in the kitchen over a hot stove just to be able to stand on my own two feet again!!

I learned something during this experience. It's weird how, if you're not careful, God will sneak up and teach you things in the most unexpected ways. But I learned a lesson about the "body of Christ" that we always hear about in church. We, as Christ-followers, make up this "body." We are all dependent upon the rest of the parts to fully function and get us through this mess we call "life". If one foot fails to work properly, walking gets a lot harder. We need people in our lives to support us, to love us, to pick us up, and to pull us along. We need community: people with whom we share a commonality.

I want to thank those in my "community" that supported me for the last two weeks. Thanks to my church family with your incredible meals. Thanks to my sweet friends who brought food, magazines, movies, and offered to drive me around and run my errands. Thanks to my kids who did a billion little "favors" for me while I wasn't walking. And a great big thanks to my incredible husband, who put up with me the whole time and never once got cross with me. It must be love!

If ever I was to be the "hands and feet" of God - going and doing what He asked to further His kingdom - these precious angels I call friends would be my "supportive orthpedic shoes" that have helped me move along. :)