Growing up as a ballet dancer, I always sought to be told that I have beautiful feet. This probably sounds weird to people who haven’t studied dance, but feet are an extremely important part of ballet. Up close, our feet actually look disgusting with the blisters and bruised toenails, but the highly arched outline of the feet is something to be desired and praised.
My feet were always average—no one told me they were beautiful, but they weren’t considered bad feet. I remember friends talking as if our biggest fear in life was getting cankles (calf merged into your ankle). We went to every length to stretch our feet and make them more arched to give that beautiful, balletic line.
On our second day in Zambia, our host began our evangelism training by saying, “You have beautiful feet.” I looked down at my feet, appalled by what I saw.
I had the worst cankles you could imagine, swollen from over 72 hours of traveling without taking off my shoes. I already had a swarm of bug bites covering my feet and ankles (those bug bites have multiplied exponentially, and I now look like I have the chicken pox). I was wearing the same chipped toenail polish that I put on in August when we were in Serbia, because I haven’t felt like buying nail polish remover that won’t fit in my backpack. My feet were coated in brown dust from walking around in the African dirt. I couldn’t point my feet if I tried, because of the swelling from the travel (I have since then sprained my ankle, so there is absolutely no chance of me pointing my feet now).
These feet are far from beautiful. But this is the first time I am hearing those words that I longed to hear my entire life: “You have beautiful feet.”
Ballet focuses on the external outline of feet, ignoring the interior struggle. The outline of the arch is coveted, while no one acknowledges the ripped skin hidden beneath the satin-covered exterior of the pointe shoe. The reason ballet dancers began to turn out their feet in the time of Louis XIV was because the upper class liked to display the jewels on the inside area of their heel. Ballet values the rich, polished exterior, trying to hide the rugged path to perfection from the audience.
But that is not how serving God works. God asks us to put our brokenness and our struggles on display, to share with authenticity our testimonies of how God is faithful through the struggle. God is about process, not performance. There is beauty in the process.
One thing that I have learned from the World Race is that serving God is harder than I could have ever imagined. The more we seek God, the more the enemy tries to beat us down. God often stretches us in ways that are uncomfortable, in ways that we would not choose for ourselves. The World Race may look glamorous from the pictures you see on Facebook, but in reality, this life as a missionary has brought discomfort and turmoil that often makes me longingly dream of life before the Race. To be completely honest, sometimes I think I would rather re-live the awkward middle-school days than live this missionary life.
However, God uses brokenness and hardship to build our character, to teach us to rely on Him, and to be living testimonies of God’s good and perfect plan that is victorious over darkness. We as Christians are not called to put on a shiny exterior to hide our brokenness, as ballet encourages. We are encouraged to humble ourselves, live in vulnerability, and constantly share how God is working through our hard times.
This month we are doing a lot of door-to-door evangelism. As Americans we find this uncomfortable, as we would not respond well to a foreigner approaching us at home or our workplace to talk to us about Jesus. But in African culture, people almost always welcome us into their lives, asking for encouragement, testimonies, or lessons from the Bible. The majority of people I have spoken to are looking for encouragement and guidance about how to get through difficult situations. God has used this ministry to make me grateful for the hard times, because these hard times have turned into the testimonies that I use to encourage people each day. I have been learning how to share my struggles and embarrassments with strangers, knowing that the end of each of those stories points to the glory of God who always gets me through them.
In Romans 10:15 we are told, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” These feet are beautiful because they walk the path of God in obedience to His will, sharing a message of hope and peace from the Lord. Ephesians 6:15 describes the feet of those wearing the armor of God as “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” Our feet are not beautiful because of their appearance, but rather their action and state of being. These feet are ready to move into any situation they are asked to move into, and they move with peacefulness and assuredness in the path the Lord has laid out before them.
It is my prayer that we would live in a world that values the beautiful feet of those bringing the good news, rather than the feet that are forced to display a perfect exterior while hiding inward suffering. This message resonates so much with this Christmas season—how wonderful would it be to live in a world where we place the value of the season on Jesus alone, rather than the exterior niceties such as beautifully wrapped presents, perfectly placed Christmas lights, and elaborate feasts.
Here in Africa I see this world appearing before my eyes. Men and women of God are welcomed into homes and workplaces to encourage people in Christ. When I ask people about their plans for Christmas, the first response is that they are going to church. Decorations are rarely seen, and the plethora of holiday parties and gifts are nonexistent.
Don’t get me wrong—I love our American Christmas traditions. But I am hoping to take a piece of Africa home with me next year. To live a Christmas of simplicity grounded in Christ, valuing the good news and peace that comes with the season over the ornamental exterior of this holiday.
You, my brothers and sisters in Christ, have beautiful feet. This holiday season, share the good news.
Thanks so much for reading this!
PRAYER REQUEST: My team has been experiencing some physical difficulties, and I ask that you would be praying for our health. We spent one of our off-days white water rafting in the Zambezi River at Victoria Falls, and unfortunately Jenna fractured her ankle, I sprained my ankle and cut my lip and nose, Allie has some nasty bruises and a bad sunburn, and Maria is suffering from a bad sunburn and headaches that have been going on for over a week. We have also had on and off stomach issues throughout the month. Please be in prayer for our team and our squad, that we would all be healed and that we would be protected from any other illnesses/injuries that may come our way.
NEXT STEPS: December 27 will be our last day of ministry in Zambia. We have had an amazing month working in partnership with Africa 4 Jesus (A4J), an organization focused on evangelism and discipleship. This community has been such a blessing—we have truly become a family with A4J as we have lived together, prayed together, worshiped together, done ministry together, and always laughed together. We did a lot of evangelism and kids ministry this month, which was definitely a stretching experience for me. December 29-30 we will be with our whole squad in Livingstone for a Leadership Development Workshop, and on December 31 we will be traveling to Botswana, beginning month 6 of the journey!
Thanks so much for your continued prayers! Merry Christmas to all of you back at home!
