One Thursday evening in writing class we were given the prompt feet. These are the words God brought. A light-hearted post with God-sized thoughts. Enjoy.
Leah, 14 months
My youngest grand, precious Leah is just discovering her feet. Shod in white lace ups they take her places leaving her hands available to grab a homemade cookie off the kitchen table. I love watching her tenuous steps. Holding my hands out and inviting her into a hug, her steps quicken.
“Not yet Leah. Walk, don’t run. Gramma will wait.” But Leah tries to run. Oops!
She crosses the rest of the distance on her hands and knees scuffing the white toes of her new shoes.
My great grandma wore black lace-ups with just a bit of a heel, old lady shoes. They offered stability as she went about her day. Function over fashion.
Mom scorned old lady shoes and into her 90s wore stylish footwear appropriate for her day’s activities. I remember watching her descend the stairs holding my breath. Fashion over function.
I’m my mother’s daughter with a bit of great grandma in the mix.
“Mom, p-l-e-a-s-e, can I have new school shoes, the kind without laces?”
My eight year old me already noticing. Comparison starts young and sometimes is initiated by looking down at my feet. I perceived shoes as the ticket to where I wanted my feet to go.
Fashion over function.
Then the bunions and the botched surgeries. God intervened. Function taking first place.
“He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.”
Psalm 40:2
About the same time as those bunions, God was whispering something else. Truths about my identity. Those feet he knit together in my mother’s womb were about to take me in a new direction, what they were shod in not all that important.
“You make known to me the path of life:”
Psalm 16:11
My path of life was not dependent on the shoes I wore, or even on my feet.
Summer, 2010.
“Honey, I’m thinking about starting a blog.” Me to my husband.
“No-one wants more grandma stories.” My husband to me.
“That’s not what I want to write about. I want my words to be a ministry to women.”
Echoes of Grace was born with my feet well hidden beneath my desk, probably wearing athletic shoes. Function over fashion.
“The church of which I became a minister
according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you,
to make the word of God full known,”
Colossians 1:25, the scripture I pray for Echoes.
I was not an English major in college.
I don’t remember wanting to be a writer.
Winter, 2021.
We’re returning the rental car after our two week vacation.
“Sweetheart, I’ve made two big decisions on our trip.”
“Oh?” I heard his question in the one word.
“I’m going to get serious about writing my book.”
My path is taking a new turn.
My feet are walking in a new direction.
Looking back and looking down, I see how my feet defined me.
Looking forward and looking up to God, I see how he is leading me.
In John 13, Jesus serves his disciples by washing their feet.
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
John 13:14
I pray that my written words will serve those who read them as Jesus served by washing feet.
And as Leah grows, I pray that she will follow her feet on the path that God has designed for her.
Copyright, Sue Tell, June 2021
Loved this perspective and musings on different feet and shoes. Function and fashion. I too have often thought about feet especially after a girlfriend get-together recently with with some friends I have known for almost 40 years. Only 3 out of the 8 have feet good enough to hike. How sad! Also living in a community of seniors has really opened my eyes to the importance of good footwear! I also liked your take on our feet taking us in new directions. Oh, and I retired from heels when I was 60. Funny how fashionable suddenly becomes dangerous as we age! I would like to continue to hike into the rest of my years and now treat my feet like valuable treasures!
Good plan Sandy!
And good to hear from you!