Friday, April 9, 2010

Bare

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18

Yesterday was eye-opening, to say the least. I didn't really think that One Day Without Shoes was going to be that hard for me. Important yes, and I didn't mean to minimize it, but on most days we stay around here... and I didn't think it would be hard to go barefoot around here. Then along came the day. Early on I remembered that one of Trace's students was coming over to help me start my garden. And it was colder than it had been in a week. And it was wet out. And did I mention we were digging?


So I know that my feet don't look too rough in this picture, but believe me, they were filthy and hurting. It was an extremely sobering experience. I cringed as I tried to push the shovel down into the dirt with my bare feet~ it was so hard! And it had me thinking of those who live in conditions in which this is their normal. Later in the day I also worked out, which was rather uncomfortable without cushioning. Just off the top of my head I can think of 30 pairs of shoes that the four of us in our own, and that is likely forgetting some. Man, I'm spoiled! 

I think the most revealing time for me was when I showered, trying to wash my feet. I scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to remove the evidence of a hard day, and they wouldn't come clean. The harder I washed, the more I started to sob... I didn't want to just wash it all away and forget!  Fresh from the heartache and joy, mixed emotions that accompany Easter for me, I didn't want to erase the humbling realization of how blessed we are. 

Trace was my real hero of the day~ He had planned on walking to work before committing to going barefoot, and he kept with the plan, walking the mile commute without shoes. I am so proud!


Halle getting in on the digging action

The little people (Remy, Halle, and their friend, Parker) were amazed at all the worms!

We did in the end get a good start on digging up the plot for my garden (Thanks in HUGE part to Zeke, a student from Trace's youth ministry, who did most of the hard work!). I am so excited about getting it going! Remy sees the world as this giant science experiment anyway, and I think this will be a great way to add to that. The only problem is that I have only killed everything I have ever tried to grow, so we'll see how this goes...



6 comments:

  1. Awesome! Love the pic of Trace and his bare feet. What a great shot!

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  2. such a beautiful idea. i love how you said this: "The harder I washed, the more I started to sob... I didn't want to just wash it all away and forget! Fresh from the heartache and joy, mixed emotions that accompany Easter for me, I didn't want to erase the humbling realization of how blessed we are..." wow. so true! happy friday.

    p.s. - my mom wants to buy me some burp cloths from your shop! yay! i'm so excited! of course, etsy is foreign to her... so i know she's going to ask me to buy them and then she'll pay me back. ha!

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  3. Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest!!

    Hi Mandy! I just discovered you over at SITS and am so glad I did! What an awesome post! It's so humbling to put yourself in other's shoes (or not!!) and see how they live. We really are blessed, aren't we. I enjoyed reading and will be back soon.

    Have a great weekend!
    Mandy from Burkett Blessings

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  4. I hate going barefoot, even in the house unless it's like 95 degrees. I never go barefoot outside--too afraid of stepping on a bee and my feet are SO sensitive.

    Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest! I was late too today.

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  5. Wow. This is amazing. I am glad you did this in order to understand and better relate to issues that people all over our world must struggle with on a daily basis. What a sobering thing to do...

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  6. i found your blog on the SITS discussion board about what turns you off to a blog. anyway, i chanced on yours. you are to be commended for the TOMS experience. i used to be a missionary in Africa and between that work and my work in int'l development since--i have worked in 3rd world countries since 1978. so many times over the years i've been reminded of the story of the man with no shoes--and have thanked god over and over that although my life is simple i have all my needs met. your passions and your decency come through your blog. kudos.

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