Dirty, dusty feet.
It’s not a pretty image, is it?
Just today I received a magazine with a 30% off sale on shoes. They are my favorite brand — secretly comfortable and outwardly gorgeous. I’ll speak at a conference this summer and my winter feet could already feel the freedom of those beautiful shoes.
Will I buy them? (Maybe Mother’s Day?) I don’t know, but I still think they’re gorgeous.
While I appreciate a beautiful shoe, I long for my faith to resemble dirty, dusty feet.
I’ve been asking Jesus to redefine my faith.
Lord, I don’t want my faith to be comfortable and pretty. Show me how to follow You. Take me deeper.
My dirty, dusty feet are waking me in the night and lead me to pray for a couple living in Turkey. Maybe it’s two in the morning here, but it’s 10 a.m. there and God knows what they need.
My comfy faith wants to roll over and sleep, pulling tight in the thick comforter, but dirty, dusty feet ask me to war for them, though I have no idea what they need.
Dirty, dusty feet peeks into my bank account and says, “It’s all His.” Richard and I have known what it’s like to worry about bills and budget and work as hard as you can. Yet dirty, dusty feet shows me that, whether we are in the lean or breathing room periods of our lives, it’s all His.
He reminds me of the joy of giving sacrificially, especially when it meshes with His heartbeat.
Dirty, dusty feet shows me where I’m nurturing a grudge and asks me to love extravagantly instead.
Dirty, dusty feet take us places that challenge our faith in a thousand different ways.
They remind us that God designed us and knows what we are capable of doing in His name.
Dirty dusty feet shows us the heart of our Savior. It allows us to hear His voice because we’re following closely.
It reminds us of what is important — the eternal perspective — and allows each of us to hold everything else lightly.
Maybe, like me, you really love a pretty shoe, but my prayer is that the world will begin to notice our dirty, dusty feet and take off their shoes and follow too.
Dear Jesus, remove our comfortable, pretty faith as we place bare, clean feet on the road you have carved out for each of us. Show us the deep, though we admit freely that we fear it sometimes. We trust that where You lead, You teach and comfort and love us. Thank you for the honor of walking with You, wherever it leads, whatever You ask. In Your beautiful, mighty name, amen.
Suzie
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Your post takes me back to childhood, when we would run around the neighborhood barefoot. We weren’t concerned about stickers or rocks, or even glass in the streets. The more calloused our feet became, the easier it was to go without shoes! Now I am probably guilty of pampering my feet a little too much. Sometimes it’s just good to get your feet dirty:) Blessings Suzie!
Love that Kristine! You are so right!
Wow, very convicting Suzie. You’re right on. Many thanks.
I love this, Crystal. I think it’s exactly where he is leading many of us. Let’s grab hands and do it together!
I want dirty, dusty feet! Headed out this Sunday to encourage others to Serve Selflessly for the Lord. I pray that they leave with a desire for dirty and dusty feet. I’ll be sharing with them your prayer that you used during the 30 day study Suzie. Lord, I love _____ and I love you. Show my how to use what I love to bring glory to You!
Blessings sweet friend!
I could identify right away with the shoes and the comfort and how the two together contribute to how we are feeling. I like pretty shoes, but lately I have been needing the comfort of the stable balanced shoe that doesn’t hurt my feet. And I much prefer the being bare foot, especially in the dirt. There is something that connects us when we are wearing the identity of who we are upon our skin, and being covered in the dredges of our faith in Christ, and His marking upon us that makes the need to walk in his steps so necessary. Your words have me thinking Suzanne.
Bless you!
Dawn
Dirty, dusty feet…. YES… give me some of THOSE!!!! I love this post, Suzie. Christianity isn’t walking around in our fancy shoes with perfectly pedicured feet all of the time… it’s messy, hard, calloused, stinky, painful, and often revolting to the world, because they don’t understand. Can you imagine what Jesus feet looked like? It almost makes me hurt physically to even think about it. But the significance of those filthy toes… oh, what beauty they hold. I often say that many modern-day churches would hesitate to even allow Jesus inside of their doors, by His appearance alone. May I be reminded daily to take off my shoes and follow where His dirty, tattered feet lead. May I walk through the muck, over rocks and glass, through the sand and dirt, and over thorns and twigs with Him as He calls.
I love this, Crystal. I think it’s exactly where he is leading many of us. Let’s grab hands and do it together!
Yes!
When I read this I thought of the saying, “Walk a mile in my shoes”. Love walks along with others in this messy world. As always, you make me think about my own walk.
Oh, and I need to know about those favorite shoes of yours 🙂
Aerosoles, friend. As a woman who sometimes walks or stands in heels for hours at a time (when speaking), I found that this brand of shoe feeds the love of pretty shoes, but also makes my feet feel fabulous.
Good tip. My mom used to tell me she couldn’t wear a certain shoe because her feet were “tender”, and I would think, what does that mean? Then life happened, and now my feet tend to be “tender”. 🙂
Suzie, you gently and soundly stomped on my feet! In a good way. I’m also into the comfy shoes. I got some by Gentle Souls last year and loved them.
Just love this! Thank you. It’s the Lord’s perfect timing that this is in the inbox this morning.
Lord, help me take off my shoes and follow hard after you. Amen.
Dirty, dusty feet – how beautiful because our Lord often had dirty, dusty feet. Thank you for pointing out that we should have a dirty, dusty feet faith, instead of a comfy faith, because then we are like Him.
Suzie, I so enjoyed this description of seeking “dirty dusty feet faith”. That is an illustration that will stick with me for certain. You’re right!! (I also like the shoe!!)
Blessings,
Pam