Friday, March 16, 2007

“How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those
Who bring good news” Isaiah 52:7


My husband, Tom, had very dry skin. In the winter his hands and feet would crack and bleed because of the cold. I used to rub his feet in with Watkins’ utter salve to try and remedy that condition. For you city folk, that is a salve used on the utters of cows when their teats crack and bleed. It was important to try and help the cows heal because the baby calves needed their mother’s milk to survive.

Tom used to tease the life out of his granddaughter, Jordon. He would begin to build his case by getting her to agree first of all that he was a preacher. Then he would get her to agree that preachers brought good news. Third, he would get her to read the verse above in Isaiah that the feet of those who brought good news were beautiful. He would ask her if the Bible verse was true. She agreed it was. Then he would ask her to agree that his feet were beautiful, to which she would say, “Nooooo, Grandpa!” And he would begin to build his case with her all over again. Jordon was steadfast, though. She would never agree that her Grandpa’s feet were beautiful.

Feet can be hurt in many ways. They can be cut, bruised, and scraped. Blisters can form on toes and on heels, a person can stub their toe or break it, and bones can be broken and sometimes feet can cramp. They can become calloused. I’m sure you can think of even more ways feet can be damaged. This can happen to the beautiful feet of those on the mountain who bring good news, our missionaries.

If the church wants to keep the feet of those who bring good news in good working order, they need to learn a bit about the art of taking care of feet. This means the church needs to be involved in a deeper way with their missionaries, understand their needs and to the best of their ability see that those needs are met.

If there are needs the church is not sure how to meet, there are resources. The important thing is to take care of those feet. It’s really hard to keep walking when your feet are in bad shape.

Love’s Prayers,


Dottie

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