Monday, November 23, 2009

Rejuvenation for the Journey

Last week, Johnathan and I were reminded how blessed we are to have such wonderful family. Johnathan's little brother, Tyler, is a freshman at Lipscomb University this year and we LOVE having him here in Nashville with us. He is one of the most spiritually mature young men I have ever met, and he blows Johnathan and me away with His desire to follow and live for Jesus. A couple of weeks ago, he was given an assignment in his Bible class to do something that Jesus did. Most of his classmates chose to go downtown and feed the hungry, but Tyler had something different in mind.
When he came over for his weekly homecooked meal last Wednesday, he asked Johnathan and I if he could wash our feet. He told us about his assignment and explained how he wanted to serve us and show us God's love through this humble gesture. Although this idea may sound a little weird, Jesus himself said, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another's feet" (John 13:14). Jesus, our Lord and Savior, took the role of a servant and washed his disciples feet. During Biblical times, this was typically the job of a house servant. Since they mostly traveled on foot from place to place, the servant would wash the dirty and calloused feet of the guests before they continued on their journey.
As Tyler was explaining to me why he was doing this, he mentioned our fertility journey and how long and exhausting it has been for us. He said that he wanted this to be an experience of rest and rejuvenation before continuing on our journey.
I cannot even tell you how much this meant to us. Even though the actual foot-washing was a little awkward, it was such an beautiful reminder of God's love for us and that He is going to give us just what we need to keep going. Even as I write this, I tear up at the thought of what Tyler did for us and the humility he showed by choosing to be "Jesus" in this way. Thank you, Tyler, for being such a precious and loving brother, but even more importantly, for being the hands of Jesus during such a tiring time of our lives.

Brooke

4 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! We just stared at the back of his head in church on Sunday since we sat right behind him! I had no idea he was that mature when it comes to stuff like that! I have never heard of a young college student thinking even of doing something like that. Did it just give you chills? It's just another one of those "strange" pieces of the puzzle that you'll look back on and know exactly how it fits!

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  2. Love it! Love Tyler! :) And, I'm thinking of you guys!

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  3. That is really sweet, especially to make the connection between washing your feet and your journey, what a special moment!

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