DEVOTION: You Want Me To Do WHAT, Lord? by Marion Ueckermann

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So he [Jesus] got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 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. “. . .  not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” ~ John 13 v 4-5, 9

My eyes are closed tight as I kneel beside my bed in prayer. I unclasp my hands and wiggle my finger in my ear, certain I’d heard wrong. “You want me to do WHAT, Lord?”

Wash feet, my child.

I swallow hard. “Uh…o-k-a-y…” A moment’s silence ensues, so I venture to ask what’s on my mind. “W—will they be cute feet, Lord? Like a baby’s? Soft, pink, cuddly, kissable? I could do that Lord. I could.” Excitement creeps into my soul at the thought of washing feet for Jesus. This will be fun…won’t it? I can almost feel my fingers caressing those tiny pink toes.

Sometimes…

“Sometimes? What do you mean sometimes, Lord?” I cannot hide my concern. It is the other times that worry me. The times that aren’t the "sometimes" my Lord spoke about. Maybe this won’t be such fun, after all.

Sometimes washing feet will be like baby steps. Not all servanthood is difficult…

“But this time, Lord? What will this time be like?”

My Lord clears his throat.

Like this…

Image courtesy of Kyle Ueckermann

"WHAT? No…” My Lord can’t be serious. I have to ask… “You ARE joking, Lord? Aren’t you?” I tilt my head sideways and allow a smile to fill my mouth, the cute one that my Lord just loves. “Like that time—”

No, no jokes. Dead serious…

“B—but, Lord, they’re so dirty . . . and dusty. Surely they stink?”

They do. And yes, they’re filthy, covered with the mire of unforgiveness.

Suddenly those feet look far too familiar.

My Lord leans closer, His face solemn. Do this, Child, and I promise you’ll set a prisoner free.

“W-e-l-l…she can do with some freedom. After all, she’s the one who—”

I’m not talking about her freedom, Child. I’m talking about yours.

His words take my breath away, like that first step one takes outside on an icy winter’s morn. He’s right. He’s so right. This situation does require some serious foot-spa time. It has held me captive for far too long. I have to let go of my bitterness. I have to be the one to make the first move. It doesn't matter who wronged who.

“W—will it hurt, Lord?”

It might.

“Will it be costly?”

Probably.

“How costly, Lord? As much as the woman who washed your feet with her perfume and tears?”

No. You can keep your perfume, my Lord chuckles, but it will cost you some tears. Mostly it will cost you your pride. But you’ll learn to be humble. You’ll learn the true meaning of servanthood.

“Ouch, Lord, that’s quite a price to pay.”

Not nearly as much as it cost to purchase your forgiveness.

That truth hits home. If He could give up so much, suffer so much, for me, a little pride is a small price to pay. I stop my barrage of questions to process all He’s said. Silence settles between my Lord and I. Finally I have to ask one more.

“W—will you go with me? Hold my hand?”

Okay, I know…that was two.

Of course. And I won’t only hold your hand, I’ll hold the towel too.

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’Matthew 25:40 NIV

Marion Ueckermann ’s passion for writing was sparked in 2001 when she moved to Ireland with her husband and two sons. Since then she has published devotional articles and stories in Winners, The One Year Devotional of Joy and Laughter (Tyndale House Publishers) and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miraculous Messages from Heaven. 

Her debut novelette, Helsinki Sunrise, releases 22 August with White Rose Publishign, a Pelican Book Group imprint as part of their Passport to Romance series. Marion blogs for International Christian Fiction Writers and Beauty for Ashes. She belongs to Christian Writers of South Africa and American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives in Pretoria East, South Africa in an empty nest with her husband and their crazy black Scottie, Wally. 

Visit Marion at her Website, her blog, A Pebble in My Pocket, or on her Amazon Author page. Link with her on Facebook , Twitter, or Pinterest.