Pedicures Make Me Think about Religion

I've spent the better part of a year and a half recovering from the world's worst pedicure.

Coincidentally, I've also spent the better part of the last three years recovering from a toxic faith situation.

As I was soaking and scrubbing my feet the other week after going for a long run, I started thinking about how feet are like our faith.

Now, I'm not into a strange "worship your feet" movement, or the "Shoes are next to Godliness" crew.

Our feet take a lot of abuse through general wear and tear. Calluses build up to protect those tender areas until our feet don't look very nice at all. (Cover those things up!) They still do the same work, we just don't like to think much about them.

Religion can be that way sometimes, too. Those who work and serve in the quieter areas can be ignored and - at times - mistreated in favor of the flashier, more overtly spiritual, types of service. Calluses build up on our hearts and spirits until we become a body of deadened souls.

The solution? Time and patience. Soaking and scrubbing. Rubbing and peeling until new tender skin is revealed once again.

Today was our 4th Sunday in a row in church since July 2005.

The skin is more tender, but a lot of calluses still remain. I'm very thankful for friends, colleagues and family that are willing to put in the time, patience and love to help renew us.