Isaiah 66:13

Sandra, who had just given birth by C-section, was feeling very bloated.  The pain from her incision was excruciating, worsened  by the hacking cough she could not seem to get rid of.  Her husband was at work, and her new son was sleeping soundly in his crib.  In the moment of silence, she tried to absorb the peace that seemed to surround her but remained far from her grasp.

Sandra's mother sat beside her, her soft gray eyes comforting and understanding as she read the restlessness and frustration in her daughter's face.  Sandra had been home from the hospital for just three days, yet her doctor had prescribed six weeks recovery time after the emergency caesarean section.  Sandra struggled not to feel sorry for herself.  It was difficult, though.  Her distant husband seemed cold and uncaring, her home was in total disarray, and her pain unbearable.

Sandra continued to wallow in her misery and barely noticed as her mother knelt before her and gently removed the socks from her swollen, hurting feet.  Her mother took one foot in her hands and began to rub it in a smooth, rhythmic motion.  The pain lessened.  Sandra started to notice.

As she watched her mother's aging hands soothing her swollen ankles, applying lotion to the dry areas, and massaging the calluses, Sandra  marveled.  Her mother's hands were strong and tenacious, characteristic of a woman who had held her own tender hands.  Sandra glanced down at her own tender hands.  They were still plump with youth...full and unlined.  They didn't have the marks of wisdom, the edges of strength, or the grasp of one who labors.  The one she should be serving was serving her.

Just like Jesus washed the feet of His disciples before the Last Supper, God serves us, comforts us, and holds us in His arms in the midst of confusion.  He assures us through His Word that He will be there to comfort us in the midst of life's chaos, even more than a mother comforts her own child.  Rest in that knowledge today.  Let it be a soothing lotion to the dry and barren patches of your soul.

Rev. Janette Stewart

2-26-01