Washing the Feet

Sunday was the final night of our relationship study with the students and Korey did an amazing job the last four weeks of showing the kids the picture of Jesus as the groom and the church as His bride. Instead of telling them not to have sex before marriage we told them why and how to keep that purity for the Lord.

This last night we had wedding cake and punch and tables set up like a wedding reception. There was someone we set up before hand to help us show the kids that we have to make ourselves ready to be part of the bride of Christ (Rev.19: 7-8). Lisa was sitting there when Korey went over and asked her to leave because although she looked dressed up on the outside, on the inside she wasn't what she appeared to be at church. She was screaming as she was being escorted out of the room. I knew it was an act but it killed me to hear her screaming to stay.

Korey then told about the wedding banquet then reminded them of the skit the first week when a young couple, Leighton and Malllary helped show the kids a picture of Jesus and His bride through a wedding ceremony. Leighton was waiting when Mallary started down the aisle. Instead of the beautiful dress, she was wearing rags, carrying bags and suitcases. Dropping them and eventually falling down, her groom ran to help. He picked up the bags and carried them the rest of the way. He picked her up, told her how much he loved her and promised to protect and provide and love her. He then took her and washed her feet before he left, promising to come back for her as soon as he got their house built. The next time we saw her she came out in her wedding dress looking for her groom. She saw him coming and ran for Him. They embraced and held each other.

After recapping the four weeks Korey invited the kids to sit in a circle and began to wash their feet. It wasn't long before Heath and Leighton also began washing the feet of these kids. Leighton is an art teacher and a former college baseball player. He and Mallary have helped us get kids to concerts and other things when they are needed. Heath is a former champion bull rider and now has a ministry called "Spurrin' for Christ" teaching these boys how to ride bulls. Korey left a career to come teach the students here, and loves them so much. To see these three men on their knees showing servanthood, but even more than that, showing these kids that they will help them keep the dirtiness of the world out of their lives so they can present pure hearts to Jesus, was priceless.

Golden Bowl

Whenever the girls and I are going to travel somewhere I give them an approximate time of departure. Leah is usually out in the van anywhere from ten to twenty minutes before time, just sitting and waiting. She's a lot like her momma, trying to find any alone time (with her own noise) she can. Rachel gets out there a few minutes before time, then I come out with all my stuff. We wait a little while for Hannah, who usually is hurrying out the door with her shoes in one hand and a jacket or extra shirt, purse, and make up bag in the other so she can finish getting ready on the way. After all the doors are closed and we're heading down the driveway the power of the aroma hits me.

I started really thinking about it the other day. The aroma thing gets its start earlier in the day with three different scents of body mousse in the bath. Add to that three different kinds of deodorant, flavors of toothpaste, and lip gloss. Then comes the lotion, different scents, of course, and then the biggest hit of all: three different perfumes. Quite a bit of the different perfumes, might I add. Sometimes that is even added after the doors are closed on the van.

I keep ibuprofen in the vehicle.

I really like having girls that sometimes shower a couple of times a day and want to smell nice. I think that's a really good thing. When I think about it, it makes me smile.

Back in the fall, one of our students' truck wasn't working and his parents were out of town. They asked if I could pick him up from football practice and take him to his house to clean up and then to Open House at the high school. Hannah and I went to get him at the field house and as soon as he got into the van I smiled. He had that familiar locker room smell that I hadn't smelled in several years. Locker room smell isn't a bad smell to me. I immediately went back in my heart to when the boys were playing sports and how I missed that. It was a good thing. Made me smile.

The other day I read a verse in Revelation 5 that said, "And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." I couldn't get that out of my mind. These golden bowls presented to the Lamb of God were full of the sweet scent of our prayers for our husbands, our children, our families, our church, our soldiers. Then my mind kept going and I started thinking that maybe when they pour it out He won't smell anything from me. Or not enough from me. Some days may be more than others, depending on the need.

Oh, sweet, sweet Jesus. I want to be so intimate with You that one bowl is not enough. To enter into Your Holiest place so often that the elders are scrambling for more golden bowls. My heart hurts at the thought that a bowl might be emptied at Your feet and You smell nothing from me. I want so bad for You to get a whiff of all the different scents from the prayers that come together and smell so beautiful. I'm desperate to hear from You that I've done a good thing. I so want to make You smile.