Washing Feet

This past week has been busy and full of lots of fun! On Wednesday, it was Independence Day here in India. We had a big celebration at Victory Home that included a wonderful chaos of balloons, singing, cookies, India flags, and just being together as an SCH family. On Thursday, Grace, the World Race team and I took some kids to the beach! I took Dorothy, a sweet 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. She absolutely loved the beach- the sand, the feeling of the waves coming up to greet her, and being carried out into the big waves with one of the world race boys. It is so fun to watch our kids experience the ocean. The smiles on their faces and the sweet sound of their laughter when they feel the rumbling waves come crashing against them, it’s like I get to experience the ocean the for the first time again just by experiencing it with them.

On Friday, we did something really special here at SCH. We had Ayah appreciation day! The Ayah’s are the full time caregivers here at all of the homes for our children. Their job is 24/7 as they live among the children here in the homes. They have, without a doubt, one of the hardest jobs in the entire world. Caring for orphaned children with special needs in India is also one of the “lowest of the low” jobs you can have. These women come mostly from remote villages, are illiterate and uneducated, and many are widowed. With the dominance of the caste system on nearly every part of society here in India, these women are considered to be in the lowest caste. Not only does the caste system decide what job you will have, it defines a persons worth. In India, a person in a low caste has low worth and visa versa. So, you can probably imagine how these women view themselves. It’s heartbreaking, to say the very least.

With all of the hard work our ayah’s do, we as a team decided it would be really cool to have a day that appreciates them and the amazing work they do for our children. We decided to show our appreciation through the washing of their feet. We explained to them that Jesus washed his disciples feet and it is a sign of honor and respect. Then, we washed their feet, one by one. I was so surprised to look up on the first pair of feet I washed and see a steady stream of tears coming from her eyes. They were so touched and so humbled by our simple act of gratitude towards them. In India, getting down and touching or kissing someone’s feet is a huge sign of respect and honor. I don’t think there was a better way to show our appreciation to them than by washing their feet. After I would wash an Ayah’s feet, I would stand up to give them a hug. They all cried, some even wept, into my shoulder and held so tightly onto our hug. It was clear on this day, that these women have never been shown more honor, respect, love, appreciation and gratitude in their entire lives. It wasn’t long after we had washed all of their feet that they were washing ours. In minutes, I watched an atmosphere of brokenness and division turn into a spirit-filled place of healing and unity. To step back and just watch God work so evidently and powerfully in all of our hearts was an amazing thing to see. 

After we gave each ayah a piece of the cake that we had the bakery make special for them, we invited the women who are Christians to get baptized if they had not done so yet. Three women decided to get baptized, one being Cedar’s ayah, and we drove about 30 minutes out in auto rickshaw to the river dam. We got to pray with them and baptize them in one of the most beautiful settings. It was such a wonderful day of break through.

When the day was done, I had so much to reflect on and much that I felt convicted about. I realized that I have been so blinded to these women and their desperate need for love. The way they held so tightly onto me when giving them a hug spoke such a loud and clear message to me and made my heart sink. It sort of slapped me in the face, actually. I see these women every day and yet, I overlook them. I get impatient with them when they don’t do their job the right way or forget to change a diaper. I don’t stare long enough into their eyes to see the pain and brokenness written all over their faces. I have come to serve the orphans and looked past the widows that are right in front of me on a daily basis. Those hugs, those tears, that stare into their eyes was enough for me to realize that I’ve been missing out on a huge opportunity to show love to women who are so completely desperate for it.

Look for people in your day who need love. Don’t let them run into you, look for them. Keep a tuned-in ear, eyes wide open, and a heart willing and ready to the people God wants to love through you. See it as no coincidence for the people you see and interact with in your day. That might sound simple and corny, but I learned that there is amazing opportunity when we live our lives with our eyes wide open to the people God puts in front of us. God is the master planner and designer of our lives and He so specifically puts the people we interact with in our lives for a reason. I don’t want to go another day blinded to the people I have an opportunity to love. I pray that this lesson will keep on teaching me, showing me, pointing out to me the people I can love, the people I can be Jesus for. I pray that my eyes wouldn’t ever go shut and my heart would stay open to the people in my life, no matter where I am or what I am doing, who need to be shown Jesus. There is such power in that, for both of us.

"Never walk away from someone who needs help; your hand is God's hand for that person." Proverbs 3:27 MSG