My friends, I am not preparing to preach for Sunday. So, as in my last post, I hope you will permit me a departure from thoughts that might guide us toward Sunday’s theme or message.
In the midst of the past week, our family has been blessed, and also challenged as we learned that Eli was born with clubfeet. This is a condition of the foot or feet that occurs in about 1 in 1000 births, it is among the most common birth deformity. It ranges in severity, but it is marked by the curvature of the feet in towards the other foot. It’s name comes from it’s resemblance of the foot to a golf club. We were referred to a pediatric orthopedist at UVA, and visited with him on Tuesday. As a result, we now know Eli’s plan for the correction of this condition. He will be in a series of 4-8 casts which will be changed each week at UVA in order to reshape his foot’s position. Following this serial casting, he will then be placed in a braced shoes, which he will have to wear continuously for several months. The next phase will involve wearing the braced shoes during sleep or naptime for the first 3-4 years.
This has, as you can imagine been a whirlwind to get our heads and hearts around. We are thankful to God for the gift of this life, and while we have unanswerable questions about the origins of the condition, we are also thankful for the corrective regimen that has produced a high rate of correction, and enables children to live a normal life of walking, running, and playing.
I was thinking of all the ways feet are involved in the life of faith. Feet are mentioned a lot in the Bible. Feet were involved in the walking of the Israelites in the wilderness, feet were involved in the spreading of the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean world by the evangelist Paul, feet were washed by Jesus to show his radical love towards his followers.
Psalm 116:7-8 reads:
I said to myself, “Relax and rest.
God has showered you with blessings.
Soul, you’ve been rescued from death;
Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears;
And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”
We have been praying a great deal, and we are confident in the God who has given us the gift of this new life that we will also be guided to persevere and have faith as we journey through this time together. We invite you to journey with us, and we thank you for your prayers, and your love.
Prayer: Thank you for the ways your remind us of your love. Bring healing and hope to those that endure life with physical challenges, and bring encouragement to those that care and journey with them. May we journey with you and be guided through the love you have given us in our creation, and in our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen
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