Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. –John 13:14
Every Valentine’s Day since our marriage more than 30 years ago, my husband and I have done something special to celebrate. But Valentine’s Day of 2006 proved to be very different. My father-in-law had come to live with us because of dementia with sundowner’s syndrome. Due to his sundowning, he would wander around the house all night. We had to watch over him 24 hours a day. My husband worked from our home and was able to watch over him during the night, and I watched over him during the day. His living with us changed our entire lives. It was our privilege to care for him, but it was very stressful as well.
We found ourselves trying to figure out a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day that was in keeping with the changes in our home. My husband surprised me that morning about 6:00 a.m., when I usually get up and my father-in-law is still asleep. Still in my pj’s, he sat me down in the chair in our bedroom and began to wash my feet and pray over me.
I was shocked—first that he even thought to do that and second, because he was the one I felt was making the biggest sacrifices and I should be washing his feet. He humbled himself before me to let me know how much he loved me, and how he appreciated my rearranging our lives to care for his father. It felt like Jesus was standing right there in the room in the form of my husband. It was the most special Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had. Jesus said, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). This is the way we should live toward our fellow believers.
Action Item: Ask God if there is someone in your life before whom you need to humble yourself.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, please show me anyone in my life that I need to humble myself toward so that I might do as You have done to Your disciples. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Karen Ferguson
Houston, Texas
Devotional taken from the devotional, Better Together. To order, visit our website, www.firstplace4health.com, or call 800.727.5223, x1002.