Beautiful feet!

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! Interestingly enough, the Lord brought that to mind the other day as I looked down at my very filthy feet. They looked pretty gross to me, and after a few moments of daydreaming about a nice pedicure, I just laughed and remembered the words to a song I sang as a little girl. I’ve forgotten most of the words, but the chorus sings, “She’s got beautiful, cute-i-full feet!” as it describes a girl who brings the good news to her friends. Earlier in the day I had encountered a shoe crisis, and ended up walking barefoot around the city for quite a ways, and the bottoms of my feet were black with I don’t even want to know what! These were not “beautiful, cute-i-full feet!” As I thought about that song, and the proverb behind it, I was humorously reminded that this does not mean that the Lord will miraculously keep your feet looking lovely, with nice callous-free heels and perfectly shaped and painted nails. But on a deeper level I was struck by the truth that I often times forget what real beauty looks like. Beauty has become distorted and turned inside-out by our world. The Lord does not see beauty, and indeed he did not intend for beauty to be seen in the way that many of us think of it today. Man looks at the outside appearance, but God looks at the heart. What we see as beautiful in so many ways is simply the shallow outer wrapping. The Lord has made many very beautiful vessels, such as the bodies of many, many people, but the part that is meant for beauty is found in the heart! Many times we miss out on beauty because we don’t look much further than the surface. If I were really concerned with true beauty, and what that looks like in an anointed young woman, I would not be so concerned with pedicured feet, (though they are quite enjoyable every once in a while!) and with well styled hair, (though I enjoy my hair thoroughly) and with how charming I can appear. (Though that last one is rarely an issue with me! Ha ha!) No, I’d be much more concerned with my feet bringing the good news; with my hands serving others as to the Lord, with my clothing being strength and dignity as the woman in proverbs 31, who is praised for her fear of the Lord and zeal in seeking Him. I’d be careful to make sure that I’m being bathed in the Word of God daily, and saturating my thoughts with it and with prayer. What a great reminder to me, that my feet do not need to look attractive to anyone in this world, and that if I am walking in obedience to God then they will be truly beautiful!