An Attempt at Washing Feet

Bailey woke me up this morning way too early. I've been exhausted for days and I needed a break, but she wasn't about to give me one. I took her downstairs so she could play while I took a nap on the couch, but she wanted out. I let her and Misty out and 15 minutes later went to let them in. I had a lovely surprise waiting. Both dogs' feet were caked in mud. So muddy it was almost funny. So I started getting a bowl of water and an old towel. I was trying not to be mad. I was telling myself, Jesus washed feet, too. Before I went outside I tried to prepare my heart to be like Jesus. I even got my phone out to do a cute photo of the dogs sitting next to one another, hilariously muddy, and I was going to write about how even dog ownership can make me more like Jesus. It went south pretty much the moment I stepped foot outside.

Of course, Bailey wanted to jump up on me because she was excited that I was outside. I was carrying a bowl of water and trying to avoid getting muddy, so I didn't exactly find it amusing. I tried to get the dogs to sit next to one another to take a picture, but in all of her excitement, Bailey couldn't sit still. "Sit, darn it! All I want to do is write a blog about washing feet!" This is the best picture I got:

At this point, I should have stopped, taken a moment to breathe, and remembered that I was trying to be like Jesus. Obviously, this is not what I did. I put the bowl of water of the ground and picked up Bailey's muddy foot to put in the water. She freaked. Once she figured out what the water was for, she squirmed and kicked so that she could get as far away from the water as possible. I didn't stop to breathe at this point either, but I should have. Instead I picked Bailey up and started putting her feet in the water. She squirmed, which made me even more angry, so I made her splash herself with the water. As if the experience wasn't scarring enough, right? Then I wiped a soaked and cowering Bailey's feet off and let her go inside. Surely at this point I should have taken a moment to breathe. But I didn't.

I went to Misty, who wanted nothing to do with the bowl of water after seeing Bailey's experience. So, being the mature adult that I am, I threw the remaining water at her and stormed inside to get a cup of water instead. When I came back outside with my Newk's cup full of water, Misty was in the same mud-filled corner of the yard, trying to stay as far away from me as possible. I yelled at her until she came over, and I cleaned one foot at a time, refilling the cup in between each foot. Misty was at least smart enough to stay still and let me do what I needed to do. This was the towel at the end of both cleanings (Notice the muddy footprints next to it):

I came back inside, ate a piece of chocolate, and just started crying. God that wasn't what I meant to do at all. That didn't glorify you at all! I felt a little like Paul when he was writing Romans 7. I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew what I didn't want to do. I did the thing I didn't want to do instead of doing the thing I did want to do. Now, I'm sitting here doing my blog post because I know that somehow I must still try to glorify God through washing those feet.

The beautiful thing about being a Christian is that we're not called to be perfect. God understands our sinful nature and sent us a savior so that we would no longer be ensnared by our sin. Jesus died knowing I would make one dog splash water on herself and then throw water at the other dog. After Paul wrote his wordy passage about doing things we don't want to do, he wrote something awesome.

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

Even though I'm a sinner, even though I totally messed up an opportunity to be more like Jesus, there is no condemnation. Sure, if my sheriff neighbors had seen me yelling and forcing feet into water, they probably would have been concerned. And, if Michael had walked in upon the scene I definitely would have been embarrassed. But, despite my temper, despite my desire to control animals who had no idea why I was angry, I am still forgiven. My sin doesn't change anything. It's already been accounted for, already been written off. This morning I am so thankful for a God who graciously forgives, time and time again. I'm thankful for a savior who died knowing all about my temper. And, honestly, I'm really thankful that no one else saw me overreact towards my dogs this morning. Now it's time for cuddles and treats.

7 Aspects of a Thankful Heart

This morning I am starting to get super excited about Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. I love spending time with family, love cooking, and I certainly don't mind eating. But it's more than that. I love the idea of celebrating Thankfulness. I love the idea of throwing a party to celebrate all that we have to be thankful for. So I was contemplating over my cup of coffee (with white chocolate mocha creamer, which is to die for) about what a thankful heart looks like. A thankful heart doesn't just post something they're thankful for every day (though I definitely think it's a cool idea and I'm not bashing it at all). A thankful heart lives every moment being thankful. When you really think about it, how thankful are you? How much time to you spend enjoying the things you have, appreciating the people around you, and how much time do you spend wanting things or wanting to be somewhere else? We're all guilty of losing sight of all that we have to be thankful for but I thought, you know, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and all, that I would write a list of what a thankful heart looks like. So, blare the trumpets because here it is!

What a thankful heart looks like:

1. A thankful heart is kind. To loved ones. To people they don't like. To strangers (like Chick-fil-A employees, for example). A thankful heart is a happy heart, and that joy spills over onto others. 

2. A thankful heart doesn't complain. Boom. I said it. When you're thankful for something, you're appreciating the value in something. The opposite of being thankful is complaining. When you complain, you're stating the negatives, ignoring the positives. You're dragging everyone around you into a pit of thanklessness. 

3. A thankful heart doesn't waste. Doesn't waste things, doesn't waste time, doesn't waste relationships. So often people throw away what they care about because they're not using it like they could. How often do we spend time with loved arguing over menial things? Thankfulness means making the most of what you have and enjoying it. 

4. A thankful heart tells others. Seems kind of obvious, right? That's what the Facebook Thankfulness Challenge is for, right? But how often in life are your motives misinterpreted or questioned, when you thought the reason was obvious? Sometimes assuming others know how much you care about them is just not enough. Say thank you for the small things, yes, but also for the big things. Pull someone aside and tell them how thankful you are for everything you do. It feels awesome to be thanked, and usually it makes you want to do even more! Share the love!

5. A thankful person is patient. When you see the value in a moment, you don't sit waiting for it to go by. Similarly, when you see the value in something that you really want, you're willing to wait for it. To all of my friends with ring fever, a thankful girlfriend enjoys dating, and sees the value in dating. Impatience is a sign of thanklessness.

6. A thankful person shares. Cookies, money, time. A thankful person appreciates everything they have and understands how valuable it is - they see the value that others could see in it. When you're thankful for your jacket and you see someone without a jacket, you want to help.

And finally,

7. A thankful person gives the glory to God. A thankful person recognizes that nothing they have is of their own accord. They recognize that without the strength and resources that have been provided for them, they wouldn't have anything. And, most importantly, when you fully understand and are thankful for the salvation and redemption that we have received in Christ, you will give all glory to God.

Now, in all honesty, this list is more for me than for you. I might do just one of the things on this list on a good day. We all like to think that we're thankful, but when we look at our actions, we learn otherwise. I challenge you (and myself) to live a life of thankfulness. Don't just post about something you're thankful for once a day. Don't just spend one day celebrating food. Try to incorporate thankfulness into an everyday part of your life, and your life might just change forever.