Dirty Feet

Back then, I clung to the dramatic and the exotic.

Back there, I painted the ideal and clung to the dream.

Back then, I thought serving the poor in a foreign land would sprout angel’s wings on my own three kids and would somehow make me an inspirational Mother-Theresa-type.

But, I am finding that, right here, it’s not really so exotic, after all.  Mostly, I am just trudging through a whole lotta dirt–

from feet to heart.

Each time our family is able to spend time out at Breanna’s House, we come home physically dirty.  Shoes are taken off and on and off again, leaving feet covered in dust.  Mud is stepped in and splattered during soccer games, and bug spray clings to little legs.  Shirts are grimy and heads are sweaty.  Bugs are touched and dogs are petted and squatty-potties are used.  And I would be pulling a Mother-Theresa-Mega-Poser if I told you that this dirty-reality isn’t just really hard as a mom of three young children.

Pulling the toddler’s fingers out of her mouth.  Wrestling through the post-visit non-negotiable showers.  Scrubbing the small feet, after UNO games played in the dirt.

But that’s the thing with service, isn’t it?  There’s always some sort-of dirt involved. And maybe its the physical kind or maybe its the emotional kind, but regardless of the form, serving and loving others, costs. And sometimes you pay for it by making a meal or buying a homeless guy a burger or swinging a hammer for a Habitat House.  And other times it costs you a Saturday morning or a $100 bucks or your space.  And sometimes it’s helping a stranger and sometimes it’s disciplining your kids.  But there is always, always a price tag for serving and loving others–

and oftentimes it’s much, much higher than a few dirty feet.

This post linked over at Ann’s site, Holy Experience, where she is talking about what it means to show compassion to those around us, particularly to the “least of these.”  Stop over and check it out, if you have a minute.

How about you?  What are the biggest challenges or greatest gifts that come with serving/helping/loving those around you, whether it be family or friends or strangers?

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Tagged as: compassion, missions, service