Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise is hosting our Spiritual Journey Thursday gathering for September. She invited us to write about her OLW for 2025, barefoot.
I love the whimsical and carefree notions that I associate with barefoot. It draws me back to childhood and what seems, in retrospect, simpler times. I tried to remember the last time I had walked barefoot on anything other than concrete. Fear of insect bites and ticks and snakes keeps me away from the carefree ways of childhood. I googled barefoot and learned about grounding. I pondered shedding my shoes and spending some time barefoot in the grass, (supposedly you can get the benefits from 15 minutes of exposure). However, each time I contemplate this action, I remember my daughter's high goose steps and shrill shrieks when she encountered a snake in their backyard this spring.
I enjoyed Linda's post and her reference to standing in the gap from Ezekiel 22, verse 30: "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me . . . "
These words from Linda's post resonated with me:
"I'm reminded that even small things matter...especially when I struggle with doom and gloom. I can turn and share this boost as well. I pray, make and share a pot of soup, smile, listen, run an errand, send a gift, write...stand in the gap (even barefoot) for someone by remembering what's important to others. This has an added benefit of lifting my spirits."
Anne Lamott's book, Stitches, speaks to the challenge of what to do during hard times with these words:
". . . Every time we choose the good action or response, the decent, the valuable, it builds incrementally, to renewal, resurrection, the place of newness, freedom, justice. The equation is: life, death, resurrection, hope. The horror is real, and so you make casseroles for your neighbor, organize an overseas clothing drive, and do your laundry. You can also offer to do other people's laundry, if they have recently had any random babies or surgeries.
We live stitch by stitch, when we're lucky. If you fixate on the big picture, the whole shebang, the overview, you miss the stitching. . . .
In the aftermath of loss, we do what we've always done, although we are changed, maybe more afraid. We do what we can, as well as we can."
Mother Teresa said that none of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love. I thank God for good friends whose lives prod me to stand in the gap for others. I count this community and our monthly writing as a grace-filled time to grow and learn how to live stitch by stitch, even barefoot.
If you missed listening to the song "Standing in the Gap" shared in Linda's post, go back and listen now. Its lyrics are beautiful and affirming. I love the music shared by our SJT community.
Happy September, everyone. It's truly my favorite time of year!
