“After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’

Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’” (John 13:5-8).

I am uncomfortable with my feet. Always have been. They are functional, not pretty. I am more content with their hiding rather than their exposure. I am also not a big fan of other people’s feet. I don’t mind them if they are well groomed, but rarely do I find a pair of feet that I love.

There is one exception. I love my children’s feet. I could wash them, trim them and doctor them without hesitation. Perhaps, in part, because I was responsible for making them. My children are an extension of me, and my love for them far exceeds any other earthly loves I have known. I come close to loving them unconditionally—the way that my heavenly Father loves me and commands me to do the same for others.

But loving with agapao has always been a difficult embrace for me. It is a requiring love. A demanding love. A selfless, best-interest kind of love that leaves little room for compromise. Agapao treads hard upon the soil of my flesh and necessitates a bending of this heart that is almost always prone to standing.

And when hearts remain unbendable…remain standing and in control…loving always remains conditional and falls short of a basin and a towel.

Jesus understands our bent toward control. This is why he wrapped a towel around his outer garment, took to his knees, and began to wash away the dirty pride that framed his disciples’ steps. Their requirement in the matter?

To pause for the sacred necessary.
To yield their feet for the cleansing.
To expose their ugly and vulnerable to the Beautiful.
To understand his touch and then to go and do likewise.

That is a lot of teaching for a single meal, but in one simple act of service by Jesus, and in one simple act of submission by his followers, a model for kingdom service was birthed into the hearts of men and scripted upon the pages of holy writ for our remembrance and our modeling. And just this past weekend, I met a group of women who remembered and who rose to the task of their bending.

Their mission?

My feet and the feet of five hundred other women. The Proverbs 31 staff and volunteers came to Concord, NC, in order to serve. To wrap the towel of God’s agapao around their waists and to tenderly and gently ask for my feet and my vulnerabilities. My wants and my worries. My fears and my tears.

I gave them up willingly, for I understood the need for their washing.

They graciously received me, just as I was, and began to do what Jesus asked them to do. They loved me without conditions. They offered their support to me at every turn and encouraged me toward the equipping of God’s calling upon my life. I am forever moved by their service to me. To name them all would take too long, but there are a few women who quickly made their way into my heart because of their time and gentle care toward my many needs.

Lindsey Kane came to serve. She is one of the first women I met upon my arrival. I didn’t know her. She didn’t know me, but within minutes I knew that I liked her. A lot. In fact, she is the kind of woman that any mother would love for a daughter-in-law. I told her so. Lindsey has a passion for God and exhibits that passion through her music. She is a gifted artist and musician and a true worshipper of Jesus Christ.

Jeannie Burlowski came to serve. I sat in her seminar to learn about the in’s and out’s of publisher proposal meetings. As the seminar ended, I realized that I had some tweaking to do on my proposal “pitch” that was about to be served up to a first publisher in one hour. Jeannie found me at the couches and asked about my book. She loved the idea and helped me reformulate a few things that I would say while in my meetings. I am forever indebted to her time and to her gracious acceptance of me.

Renee Swope came to serve. I’ve known Renee only a short time, but when she saw me, she was quick to hug and to encourage. Renee models compassion. She is tender and soft spoken, but her service to humanity packs a punch like no other. She is a Godly lioness ready to take a bite out of anyone who threatens the Father’s flock. Thank you, Renee, for showing up at all the right times on more than one occasion. You offered me courage when I had little.

Susanne Scheppmann came to serve. I’d never met Susanne prior to this weekend. She led a fabulous seminar on The Pathway to Publication. Her raw and unedited truth, her humor and wit, and her grasp of the material endeared her to me for always. In a particular vulnerable moment on Saturday evening, Susanne stepped out of the service with me so that I could share my heart with her. She’s a published author who serves the body of Christ with the basin and towel…in Las Vegas no less! After meeting Susanne, I think Vegas and her are a good fit!

Lisa Whittle came to serve. I am a fan of Lisa’s blog. I have only recently come across her work, but she writes with a depth of insight that forces me to a deep pondering of the things of God. I ran into Lisa in the hallway on Saturday afternoon. I shouted out her name and introduced myself. She was a kindred spirit from the get go. Lisa has just published a book entitled, Behind those Eyes: What’s Really Going on Inside the Souls of Women. Her overriding passion in this book is to see women live authentic lives before God and with one another. What she modeled to me in our brief encounter was as authentic and genuine as Christian relationship comes. I feel so privileged to have met her and to have had my feet washed by her in a moment of great exposure.

Last, but certainly not the least of these (and not a member on the panel of speakers) my friend Joy came to serve. Her writings on her blog drew me to her, but her friendship with me in Concord is the thread that will keep me coming back for more. Joy is a quiet, yet strong woman of God. She laughed at almost everything I said; not because she had to, but because she was willing to give me the stage, and I am prone to an audience. The perceptions you have of her from reading her blog are accurate. She’s genuine through and through and even more so once you put that name with her pretty, adorable face. Indeed, she is Joy to me, and I’ll love her for life.

These few, along with many others, washed my feet this weekend. In their pretty and in their poise, they bent low to embrace God’s calling upon their lives to serve. They understand better than me, the theology of a basin and a towel. And through their grasp of my ugly, my vulnerable and my needy, I have learned a great deal about Jesus and his love.

No wonder a teaching over a last supper! Jesus knew that we needed it. And where I have lacked in its understanding, I now more fully comprehend because of the witness and bending of some new friends who have learned to love the most excellent way.

I want to be a foot washer. I want to readily embrace the towel around my waist and begin to wash the ugly away from this world, and so I pray…

Thank you, Father, for those you sent to wash my feet this past weekend. I am moved by their witness. I am changed by their love. Teach me to love this most excellent way. Let not control remain as my issue; instead, let me bend and submit my life for the washing and for the washing of others whom you place at my basin. Left to myself, Lord, I cannot adequately love, but with your promised Spirit living within, I can love to the uttermost. To limits unfathomed and to grace unmerited. Humbly I bow to the sacred privilege. Amen.

One of my favorite pasttimes in Gatlinburg…beading with Kevin at the Smokey Mountain Bead Bar!

Yes, girls…a prize is on its way!