My Feet

“Thus, when you wake up in the morning, called by God to be a self again, if you want to know who you are, watch your feet. Because where your feet take you, that is who you are.”  --Frederick Buechner

I have big feet.  Sometime around middle school I hit a size 10 and they stopped growing, thankfully.  My mom used to call me "clodhopper" and my grandpa always said, "You've got a firm foundation there."

(For the record, I just now found out what clodhopper means.  You can click here and find out, too.)

When I was pregnant with Paul, my feet swelled up to Pillsbury Doughboy proportions.  I had to go to Payless and buy size 12 flip flops, the only shoes I could wear.  There was much drama when I had to show up on campus to teach in flip flops because they were against dress code.  I ended up borrowing Adam's Birkenstocks and adjusting them to the last hole.  Luckily after Paul was born, they went back to their normal large size and I don't have to special order shoes.

My feet get no respect. They are neither pretty nor pampered. But these are the only feet I have. Just this week they have taken me to on several beautiful fall walks. They have accompanied the kids and I as we walked home and they burst with excitement about the day. These feet took me to church and school and the store.  These feet took me to Bible study where we laughed for an hour and a half. These feet sat behind my desk yesterday as I listened to funky music while typing out the words of the church.

I always think of my hands as tools of service. I use my hands to hug, to shake, to write, to work, to help, to cook. I forget though, that my feet are there also. If I started recognizing my feet as useful as my hands, would I walk different? Would I get more pedicures? Would I wear better shoes?

Today I am thankful for my ten toes that keep me balanced. When I have full hands, I'm thankful for my heels that close doors behind me. I'm thankful for that bone that juts out and reminds me of my grandmother. I'm thankful for the large, firm foundation I'm standing on that keeps me from swaying easily and keeps me grounded.

In this season of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my hard-working, often overlooked feet. They might be big and they might not be pretty, but they take me everywhere I go.