Hi friends. Today (Aug. 8) is my (Eric’s) birthday, so I thought for my blog entry I’d ask Holly to share something she recently wrote. I hope you enjoy:
The other day the closet door in our bedroom was open. It was the left side, the side with Eric’s clothes. I looked in at the very organized clothes all hanging on their proper hangers organized by seasons and trips. You see, my husband travels a lot for his job and thus needs clothes for a variety of temperatures and occasions. It’s always fun to be in the bedroom the night before he leaves and be part of the packing up for his next trip. We have to look up the weather in Abidjan or Paris or for some remote village in Kenya. Sometimes he has to pack for rainy cold weather and sweltering humid heat all in the same trip. He has a check list we work through so he doesn’t forget important things like his flip flops for his showers in the African bush!
My eyes moved down to the floor where his shoes were neatly arranged in pairs on the ground. These are also strategically placed according to need such as leading a training on a hard cement floor all day in Ghana or teaching in a nice carpeted American church. He also needs good running shoes for sprinting through airports to catch connecting flights.
Something about looking at his shoes always puts a lump in my throat. I instantly think of all the places these shoes go. All the villages and countries and churches and homes where they have been.
Eric’s global training shoes
Two bible passages that come to mind are Romans 10:14-15 –
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Isaiah 52:7 – “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “your God reigns!”
I took a moment to kneel down and pray over those shoes. I prayed Ephesians 6:15 – “…with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I prayed a blessing over them as they take the gospel around the world.
I am so grateful that God lets our family be part of an international ministry. I am so proud of my husband and his devotion to take the gospel all over the world.
