Giving Thanks–to CNN, to Life

I thought I was thankful, especially Saturday night with a heavy plate of Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner, nestled into a visit with my parents. Then I watched the CNN Heroes show. Tweets earlier in the week alerted me to it. I didn’t know I’d be crimped, ripped, and left wondering what mystery wants to birth in me.

Driving home, fresh snow brightened the two lane road. Tears bubbled and blurred me for twelve miles. Starry pinpoints lit the pitch night sky. I imagine the crimps and cramps that assist in open heart surgery. Compassion and unnameable longing wrench me open.

I can’t–don’t want to–let go of the stories, the people. Men and women who saw a need and said, Oh, no. Then birthed, I can, I must, I will. All the CNN Heroes stories pinch me, a few in particular:

• A man said, “I build footbridges.” I blinked. Footbridges? I did not understand that life-saving power. I do, now. Requests for tens of thousands more pour in.
• Students who shepherd by day learn in the dark with the invention of  a solar LED light.
• Sex trafficking victims are rescued and rehabilitated. One young girl was forced to have sex with 60 men. In a day.
• A Scotsman responded to aching hunger and feeds 430,000 starving children. Every day.
• Inspiration from a kick-ass grandmother who creates magic moments in a hospital in Juarez, Mexico. Could I be like her?
• A chef brings dignity to those who are mentally ill and elderly–feeding body and soul with more than 1.2 million meals to date.
• …more stories are equally compelling.

The stories are not new. Nor is the need. Yet, I am grabbed in a way that is simultaneously unfamiliar and life-giving.  These men and women simply–though I’m sure it wasn’t always simple–responded yes. Tonight, I wonder–ask myself: “Who am I at this crossroads in my life?  What can I do–where does my compassion intersect with humanity?” I will let this question gnaw in me, germinate.

What unknown light is mine to shine? What light might be yours? I give thanks–for you, for CNN Heroes, for everyone who won’t let go of humanity, community, hope.

Friendship and Feet

I celebrate friendship and feet today. Does this sound odd to you? As a Christian, Holy Thursday is a powerful day. It was Holy Thursday (also called Maundy Thursday) when Jesus gathered his friends, shared a meal, and then, I’m quite sure, surprised everyone. He got up from the table and began to wash everyone’s feet.

Now, even today, getting up from the dinner table and washing feet would be a surprising move. But back then, it really was! In all likelihood, feet weren’t all that clean. The water would have muddied immediately. But that didn’t stop Jesus. I wonder what it felt like to receive this particular gesture of love from a friend and teacher. I suspect there was confusion, embarrassment, and  even resistance to his tender touch. Unexpected, his action teaches and guides me today.

A compelling 8″ x 10″ photograph lives on a shelf in my office. Titled “Orphan Feet” by Joyce Roach, OP, I’ve pondered it since 1996. It’s a simple photo: the grubby feet of a young boy, dusty, wearing huaraches. Ankles are crossed in front of a brick wall, and shadows play in the sun. His feet look relaxed, and I want to know his story. It doesn’t appear that his feet would tell an easy story, yet there is an ease evident in the balance of his resting pose. I don’t need to see the eyes of this young boy … I simply ponder who he is by looking at his worn sandals and calloused toes.

I want to sit down, take his feet into my lap, wash them, and gently massage his soles and toes. I want him to know he matters–that I will listen to him. I want him to feel the gentle touch of my hands, my willingness to simply sit with him.

Now, I know this may all sound a little odd. Just as it does when we learn that Jesus washed feet after a dinner. But stop and think about it for a minute. How sensitive are you about your feet? What if a friend, lover, or even a stranger asked to gently cleanse and caress your feet? How would you respond? And, in contrast, are you willing to give a barefoot massage to someone else?

A friend inspired me on a Holy Thursday a few years back. She left her busy work day just after lunch, heading to a downtown street in Denver, Colorado. For the next few hours, she and several other women greeted men who were homeless, living on the streets. They spent time with each man, washing and massaging feet, offering a clean pair of socks when they finished. I am certain the men received much more than a new pair of socks. But more than that was the luminous light I saw in my friend’s eyes as she described her experience to me. She too was served by the humanity of each man she encountered.

Our feet reveal our vulnerability. When someone lovingly massages my feet, all I can do is simply receive the gift of touch and presence. And, when I cleanse and caress the feet of a friend, family member, or stranger, I too can only humbly serve, and share my presence.

Will you consider tenderly washing and massaging someone’s feet this week? How might this be a gift to someone else, or even to yourself?

Please come back and comment about what you discover!

Friendship and Feet Posted by PeggeBernecker at 4/9/2009 4:50 PM CDT

http://www.chron.com/channel/houstonbelief/commons/searching.html