My Thoughts : Holy Ground

Courtesy of Google Images

I have never really liked the idea of shoes on my feet. For some reason, from when I was very young, I preferred to walk barefoot. It did not matter as much that the stones were hard or the ground was hot...if I could get away with it, I would walk barefoot. As a child, my mother would often send me to the kiosk. And every time, I would dash out of the house before she could stop me and force me to put on some shoes. The kiosk was never too far away, so not much damage was inflicted. Still, the number of times I got thorns in my feet! :o

Yet, I would still go barefoot whenever the opportunity presented itself. Somehow, by being barefoot, I felt like I was in better control of my body. I could run faster, cycle better and even navigate the path in a more confident manner. Eventually, as I 'grew up' and began to heed my mother's ceaseless orders that I "put on some shoes!", my barefoot adventures became less and less frequent.

What got me along this line of thought was a post a good friend of mine put up recently. She was talking about some of the things she loves. Since I want to do justice to her words, I will quote exactly what she said:

"I love being barefoot in the grass! (It's what I do when I'm nervous, angry or out of sorts. Makes it all better) "

My friend's update reminded me that I often find myself doing the same thing when I am in grass. I'll take off my shoes and just let them sink into the grass.

Courtesy of Google Images

Then I started thinking about the Bible story of Moses' encounter with the burning bush. For those not familiar with the story, this is basically what happened.

A man named Moses was tending his sheep as he always did in a desert area. Everything seemed as it usually was, until he came across a bush that was on fire. His attention was drawn to the bush; not because it was burning, but because it was not being consumed by the fire. Now that's something you do not see everyday. So, of course Moses moved closer to the bush...probably to try figure out what exactly he was seeing. But as he got closer, the Bible says that the voice of the Lord spoke to him from the bush.

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

(You can find the full story in Exodus Chapter 3)

Whenever I have heard this story being told, preached or shared, the manner in which it was told always gave me the impression that Moses was told to take off his sandals because they would 'dirtify' (for lack of a better word) the holy ground. However, when I started thinking about how much I love being barefoot; how it helps me feel one with nature; how there are others who feel the same as I do, I began to think that perhaps I got it wrong.

What if, when God told Moses to take off his sandals, it was not because the ground was too holy to have shoes on it? What if, God told Moses to take off his sandals so that he could experience God with ALL his senses? I believe that God works through many things, including nature. And when we wear shoes, our connection with nature is interfered with. So it is possible, that God wanted to commune completely with Moses.

Now I'm not saying that shoes have no benefit at all. If that was the case, they would never have been invented in the first place. What I am saying is that once a while, it would do us all some good to take a walk barefoot. Be it in the grass, the sand, the water or even inside your house.

I know that from now on, I will never judge or condemn myself when I do not feel like wearing shoes!