A Modern Day Foot Washing.

It was a cold morning in Atlanta. Temperatures were in the 20's last night and as Glenn and I pulled up to Rescue Atlanta about 8am, there were about 15-20 people bundled up waiting for a new pair of tennis shoes. Some had been waiting since before sunrise. Today, an organization called Samaritans Feet hosted a foot washing and shoe give away at Rescue Atlanta. When is the last time you had to stand in line for hours in the freezing cold, just to receive a pair of shoes?  As we prepared the rooms so we could open the gates, we had two more volunteers show up to conquer the cleaning of the oven. This is a non desirable task for anyone, but they volunteered with selflessness and worked for hours.  Thank you! Thank you!

 

While they were in the kitchen cleaning, we had an amazing group of teenagers from Church of the Apostles setting up the church to bless the men and women who would soon enter the doors. Here is the set up before the event began.

Once we opened the doors, we got as many people into a "holding" area as possible because it was so cold outside. To say they were tired, impatient and cold is an understatement.  I'm having to thicken up my skin, because when you are have physical discomfort, you tend to impose verbal abrasion on others. I was told I didn't understand, got accused of being impersonal and I filed people into chairs.  It's a difficult balance because you have to try to express sensitivity while keeping order. Thankfully there are the those who were grateful and expressed their appreciation in the midst of it all. We had the token argument and "take it outside" warning..and I experienced my first "headlock" today. I bent down to listen to a woman who was almost whispering, and when I did, she wrapped her arm around the back of my neck and squeezed tighter the more I tried to release myself from her grip. It was a little scary for a moment, but God kept me calm. She was mentally unstable and Glenn had to later escort her out of the building when she literally started screaming at everyone in the room. This is just a typical day in our life. Say a prayer for her.

Can you imagine how humbling it would be to have your feet washed by a teenager after you have had the same pair of socks on for a week? Or maybe no socks at all?  It was a beautiful thing to watch. We had 25 chairs lined up on each side. On one side would sit a teenager, on the other the person receiving the foot washing.  The student would introduce themselves, send a runner to get the right size shoe and then enter into a time of personal ministry. They would ask for any prayer requests, pray for the individual, wash his or her feet, and replace the old shoes and socks with a pair of new shoes and socks.  Here are a few pictures below.

In the middle of people of coming in, a young man walked up to me and asked if he could speak to Pastor Mel. I told him that he was out running the buses and asked if there was something I could help him with. He went on to tell me that he was not homeless, but he was downtown today when he saw the bus with "Jesus" on the side. He said he needed prayer and had heard that Pastor Mel and Rescue Atlanta did a lot for the community, so he got on and rode to our facility, not knowing what was going on.  He is in college part time and works part time, is 23 years old. He said, "I don't really need a new pair of shoes, but I'm willing to do whatever just to get someone to pray with me."  He had entered the room with everyone else and sat crying because his older brother was involved in a car accident this morning and was in the hospital about 30 minutes away. He had no way to get there. I had one of the pastors pray with them and then sat and talked to him for a bit. I assured him that we would get him to the hospital even if we drove him ourselves. I told him I really wanted him to sign up for a pair of shoes, not for the shoes, but for the ministry that would take place. I told him that God obviously led him to get on that bus today and come to Rescue Atlanta, and that he would be blessed by what took place.  Because he was the last person to go through the line, there were lots of teenagers surrounding him. He engaged them in conversation and had his feet washed in a very difficult time in his life. He grew up in foster care and said his older brother was like a Dad to him.  Isn't God good? He plans out our day with no chance interactions.  We were able to get him bus fare to get to the hospital and he is planning on attending church tomorrow. This is a picture of his foot washing.

Whose feet need washing in your life? Literally or figuratively? Has anyone tried to "Wash" your feet lately? Have you accepted the blessing or been too embarrassed to let them see the "dirt" on your "feet"?

"‘Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.... Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them’" (John 13:14-17).

For His Renown,
Morgan