Before I head out for a week away to help JonMark get ready for college, I wanted to let you in on a little secret that has been with me since May. My ‘little secret’ helps me be more creative and relaxed. And while it may seem a bit childish to some, for me, it is an important part of my day. And it looks like this. . .
Every day when I arrive in my office, after Ann and I talk about the morning tasks and what needs are arising for Sunday, I walk behind my desk, slide off my backpack onto the floor, and then I slip off my sandals. . . For the rest of the day I will walk around the office bare foot. Yup. . . that’s it. I don’t wear shoes when I am in the office.
When I take a phone call— bare foot. Zoom meeting with either my presbytery committee or my weekly pastoral check-in—shoeless! Sitting here researching a next message—sandals sitting next to my bare feet. Walking in the sanctuary to change the liturgical color—you know. . .
If I know that someone is coming in to talk, or if the bell rings at the door, then I slip my sandals back on and life returns to normal. No one even knew that one minute ago I had no shoes on.
In moments like this, where I am writing a pastoral thought for you to read, my sandals lined up next to me under the desk waiting for me to need them. My feet are resting on the feet of my chair with my arches being massaged by the hard plastic on the chair’s legs. And while I know that not everyone likes to think about my barefoot sitting behind my desk, I can say that it helps me to be at peace and I find joy in the practice.
You as well have moments in your life that you created, maybe unintentionally, that are similar in function to my “bare-feet-in-the-office” moment. They are choices that we make that, perhaps out of necessity, that when we look back across the weeks and months of covid-19, or some other important moment in life, have become something that we cannot live without. These practices, or choices, are a necessity that helps us remain peaceful and bring us a sense of joy.
I started taking my sandals off as the weather became very hot since I was too warm. It was a functional choice first. But the more I did it, the more I engaged the practice, the more I saw that it was becoming a habit. It was a necessity, and as such, I could use it to help peace and joy grow in me. It now feels good to flex my bare-toes like John McClain in Die Hard (in the movie, John hates flying. After someone on the plane suggests the practice of ‘making fists with your toes’ after a long flight, John learns that it does help and chuckles. He will do it from that point onward).
And so, I wonder, do you have those little moments of joy in your day? Those little choices that you make which seem insignificant, but upon reflection, are ways that peace can live and joy can grow? Maybe that is something that you and God could work on?
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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