Saturday, September 6, 2008

The Pedicure

Before I start, please permit me to digress, but not too much.

Sometime last week I saw someone. He was waving at me frantically. I knew the face was familiar but I could not trace it. We spoke. He sounded well-educated (if there is anything like that). Did we go to the same school? I wondered. I appraised him. He was dressed neatly, looking smart like a guy heading for a fruitful date. I did not say anything concerning the fact that I could not place his face. Then after the brief discussion he said, “Okay, good night Aunty Rita!” There are only few places where I am addressed as Aunty Rita. Suddenly I could place his face. He was a security guard in our office. I only saw him in the uniforms opening and closing the gate. I said to myself, “I should never judge people by what they do or the clothes they wear.”



*******************************************************

He sat on the chair while I washed his feet. With gentle massages and selected foot treatments, I brought his dirty feet to a state he could never imagine. But the thirty minutes of soaking, scrubbing, massaging, nail trimming and washing his feet was a moment of reflection.

He was once a baby I tended. I washed his diapers, made sure he ate at the right time, sucked his catarrh (ewww!!), and carried him on my back while I went about doing my household chores. My back or my bosom was his first place of sleep before he would later be laid in a cot. Now he’s a grown boy, playing football in the dirtiest places, and mature enough to make decisions for himself and the family.

I was seated at a lower position in order to get the pedicure done. It looked like a Master and Servant scenerio. But I was not washing his feet because he had ordered me to do so. I was not washing his feet because he could pay me to do it. I was not washing his feet because I owed him a favor. I was not washing his feet because he could not do it himself.

I did it because I love him (and of course, the feet were dirty!)

I was not less of a person by washing his feet. I was sure of whom I was and the act could not take it from me. As I slowly wiped his feet, I had to recall when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. He was still the Son of God yet he humbled himself. He was secure in who He was.

“How do you like your feet now?” I asked him when I was done with the pedicure.
“Are these my feet?” he asked humorously.
I was okay with the joy and appreciation in his eyes. That made my evening.

As he walked away, tiptoeing like he did not want his feet to touch the ground, my spirit concurred with my thoughts, “I am not great because of what I do. I am great because of who I am: Your child made in Your image, in whom You reside.”

And I echo this to you, “You are not great because of what you do (or do not do). You are great because of who you are: A child of God made in His image, in whom He resides.”

The story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet is based on John 13:1-17.

42 comments:

aloted said...

yes o! I am reclaiming my position on this spot!!!!

aloted said...

Hmm...men i agree that we shld not judge people and look down at them because of how we expect them to be...not our place at all!!!

hmm if we want to be great in God;s kindgom we have to be servants..men! sounds so so hard..Lord teach me how to be a servant...

kai Pastor/Aunty Rita you have challenged me AGAIN!!!

Rita said...

Ha! Madam Aloted. Allow the post to land...

Now I add you to the few that call me Aunty Rita :)

Chei, I did not know I was giving you challenges oh:)

John said...

Em em.... my feet are dirty too...LOL, I like the way you use everyday events and experiences, I learn a lot from ur stories, keep it up.

IDK said...

wnt be lookin at pedicures the same way..thnx aunty rita!!!...and thnx for stoppin by my blog:P

zara (my alter ego) said...

hmm nice write up.. i love the way ur stories dramtize the wise words.. wud he wash my feet too? cos i need me some pedicure.. just kidding.

DiAmOnD hawk said...

wow wow wow! really loved this post

re: judging people.... definitely a lesson to be learned... you never know

Anonymous said...

hey thanx for stoping by mine :)

Rita said...

@John: Do you know the state called OYO...LOL...I have great plans for you...

@IDK: You're welcome. Thanks to Chari for leading me to the treasure your blog is.

@Zara: Thanks...I'm sure He'd want to wash your feet. He's the best in pedicure :-)

@Diamond Hawk: Thanks... Yeah we really never know who/what people are

Rita said...

@ Geisha.Song: You're welcome. I enjoy your classes and your analyses.

Femi B said...

Wow, I am great regardless because in me resides HIM...nice touch on that

Rita said...

@Femi B: Thanks, I like the way you rephrased it...

Geebee said...

Lovely! I couldn't stop until i was through with this one and i went over it again and again. How many of us could do what Jesus did? I wonder. Really we should not judge people by their looks . . . or the colour of their skin but by the content of their character (Martin Luther King said that. No copyright infringement now). Nice thoughts.

Geebee said...

I forgot to add 'Aunty Rita' as well. Here, that's it.

aloted said...

sorry jare. yes i did- the new url is http://alotedbabe.blogspot.com.

how u dey?

Rita said...

@ Gbengasile: Do you want to try doing what Jesus did?

Thanks for dropping by, especially with your reminder of what Martin Luther King said...

So the list of those that call me Aunty Rita is now growing...hope there will be no confusions...

Rita said...

@ Aloted: Am fine oh...and u? Chai... if i did not find out on time about the change in address, that is how you would have updated, and I will be last to know...thanks anyway...keeping an eye on ur blog...

wellsbaba said...

my dear I REALLY REALLY appreciate ur comment on ma blog...I love this place too and THE FACT THAT YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!giddy up for a lifeblog journey with me!

wellsbaba said...

thanks4ur comment...then I re read dis post n realise its not all d stuff I do or happened to me that makes me who I'm but its really who I'm that makes me who I'm...im a son of God!

Afrobabe said...

yes oh...I would like to be politically correct and not judge people...I am friendly to all...but I personally would not date/marry a security man but that does not mean I dont respect them...

poeticallytinted said...

Nice one. 'Pity some of us judge people by how they dress and permit me to say it is very rampant in Naija. I remember going to British Airways office (in Naija)once to buy a ticket. They made us queue up and frisked us with that metal detecting device. I noticed the guard didn't frisk the man in front of me because he was dressed in a crumpled suit & carrying a briefcase. As for me I was wearing my Saturday uniform of jeans and a tank top so the guard proceeded to thoroughly frisk me and frisk my bag sef. When we got into the office, i realised the guy in the suit came to buy the ticket for his 'oga' and I couldn't help smiling to myself.

ShonaVixen said...

first time here and really loved ur post!!and yup no judging people by the jobs that they do or whom we thnk they are when they're totally different.

The Activist said...

This is so deep and meaningful. A great lesson learnt. You rock mi-lady

Anonymous said...

ummm how I adore pedicures

Geebee said...

(Rita) You sure are right you know. I don't think the guys at HEVI knew I was a talkative but i guess they got lucky by unknowingly picking the right guy . . . not that i wish to stay there forever anyways. Once something much more juicy shows up, i'm out!

I'm glad u think my daughter's cute. I think so too. She's the center of my world now. I wonder what would have happened if I had killed myself . . . What do u think would have happened? Nothing i guess. Life would have gone on without my sorry ass anyway.

Thanks for checking in. Hope to see you around more frequently. Still feels pretty lonely for me in blogsville. Still yet to catch many more bloggers. Take care

Rita said...

@ Wellsbaba: Thank God...it is well with you.

@Afrobabe: You appear to me as someone who is receptive and friendly to all, which is one of the things I admire about you... Date/marry security guard? No way. Everybody find your own level...Respect is okay.

@Poeticallytinted: See discrimination of the highest order! LOL@ "...thoroughly frisk me and frisk my bag sef..."

@Shonavixen:Thanks for luving the post...yep, no judging...the guy is actually a graduate but due to lack of job, he had to make do with what was available...

@Standtall: Thank you...(blushin seriously)...

@Kin'shar: Do you want a pedicure now :-) The first time I had a pedicure, I was sooo embarrassed. I wondered how someone else could be touching my feet like that...Now I enjoy it.

@Gbengasile: Blogsville is really a home...not to worry, it won't take time before u become unlonely...

Buttercup said...

u r so right bout not judgin a book by its cover..i think the average human being is guilty of that..

thanx for the inspiration!

how r u?

Emilia said...

Auntie Rita it has happened to me before but my version is worse than yours cause I said I could ´t remember the person... I did the same thing twice to the same person who looked different on two occasions

Anyway you are welcome to join our lose weight/ fitness quest for two weeks

Rita said...

@ Buttercup: I'm so guilty of judging, but God is helping me so I can treat people better...I'm fine, just recovered from having a sore throat so for 1 day I could not yell...And you? How are you doing?

@Emilia: Twice to the same person? LOL... Were you forgiven?

I was ROTFL concerning your invitation to lose weight & be fit...(still LOL) I am an American size 0 (or -1) and I'm doing everything at the moment to gain weight. Any ideas?

Emilia said...

I cant say I was forgiven coz the whole thing just got even more embarrassing. I became extra polite since I was ashamed without alising that the guy was interested (romantically),and me NOT. I had to turn him down bluntly coz he got a number from one of my friends yet I was beginning a thing with some else whom he knew well. HE THOUGHT I WAS NASTY FOR LEADING HIM ON I GUESS. Well now I can say we have an agreement, that we are just polite to each other no hard feelings I hope ....

Buttercup said...

aww glad u've recovered..im good, thanx!

u wanna gain weight??

CHOCOLATES, JUICY BURGERS, SODA!!!!!!!!

seye said...

You know, this is what i was talking about...it's like you my blog on Facebook!

I talked about how we judge people so quickly...we do not wait to even listen...why? we look at the outward appearances. I went on to say that we shouldn't even judge by the inner appearances...the truth is WE JUST MAY NOT KNOW THE PEOPLE AROUND US.

I also talked about a christian rock band that I just got hooked on to...FireFlight...a friend of mine saw them ...and she was like "ROCK!" but then I read articles about them...oh my gosh...these guys had a mission in cambodia, they had set up schools, set up missionaries...they spend most of their times there teaching about Jesus...bla bla.

Red Sapphire said...

U are always welcome rita...u're an inspiration

Rita said...

@Emilia: LOL...you never know what is running through a man's mind...thank God there is an understanding now

@Buttercup: CHOCOLATES, JUICY BURGERS, SODA? I feel fat already :-) Thanks. Will try them for 6 weeks...

@Jorge: I'm really impressed with what you are doing with your students...will drop my comments on your blog

@Seye:I'm sure I would have judged them by the mere mention of "Rock"! This is a classical example of how one can be prejudiced without knowing the truth about the people and what they do...Thanks for sharing this.

Joy Akut said...

when we take time out to look beyond everyday activities...thers always something to take out of it.

about judging people, i know how u feel, i see this security people i tip at the banks et co, they greet me and i'm looking confused till they tell me who they are.
to think i'd immediately pick them out if they were in their uniforms.

SOLOMONSYDELLE said...

"I should never judge people by what they do or the clothes they wear."

Thank you for providing that reminder. We sometimes set people into categories based on what they do and not who they are as children of God. I appreciate having been reminded of this important lesson.

Thanks, my sista.

seye said...

Hey Rita...I put that post on my blog

Geebee said...

I think i now agree with u. Blogsville's feeling more like a home and the loneliness is gradually slipping away. How u doing?

Emilia said...

Rita don´t gain the weight pleeeeeeeeeeease. Whats the benefits of gaining do you know how many women in Sweden would kill for a size zero right now. Why do you want to gain weight dear, you are perfect?
Anyway when you want the weight loss program contact me .....
Please eat healthy even if you want to gain weight

Whats up with everyone wanting to gain weight?
All the best

Rita said...

@Fantasy Queen: Life is such a teacher...
Thank God I'm not the only one who's guilty

@Solomonsydelle: You are most welcome...

@Seye: Good good...I don't know how I missed the No.1 spot...

@Gbengasile: Can I say "I told you so?" Am fine, thank you...I see you're settling in fast...

@Emilia: But if I don't gain weight, i cannot participate in your weight loss program :-)

Thanks. Will eat healthy and do you proud...

theicequeen said...

thanks for stopping by mine!

yep, i commenting on the third or so post...habit of mine, i read through when i come to a new blog lol! very inspirational blog, and i love it!!! most definetely going to blogroll...

the story about the security guard-how so very true- we should not judge people by the clothes they wear as you said..for those clothes come off and they remain the person they are inside-which is who really matters...

Rita said...

@Theicequeen: Thanks for returning the visit...yours is a blog full of unexpected maturity...and then you further suprise me with the powerful statement "and they remain the person they are inside-which is who really matters" thanks for dropping by.