Across the Pastor’s Desk by Eileen Woyen

 

And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:15

I stopped at McDonald’s the other morning. I was picking up some breakfast — just an egg McMuffin and a Diet Coke (no ice). The day was going well. It was a little hazy, but there were promises of blue skies in the afternoon.

I rolled up to pay for my order. The cashier and I did the customary “How are you?” and “I’m good.”

I added to the conversation, “Well, I’m beginning to see the end of the tunnel in something, and I know the light is not coming from an incoming train.”

And then the most interesting and beautiful thing happened. The cashier became the “beautiful feet” that shared with me the good news. She told me she was so happy to hear this. She had felt this way before, too, and what a wonderful feeling that is. She continued that God is with us and helping us all the time.

Wow! She didn’t know I was a pastor. She didn’t know if I was even a Christian. But she shared the word of God that I needed to hear that day.

It makes me wonder — why is it so hard to become the “beautiful feet that bring the good news?”  What scares us? What is holding us back?

We are all guilty of “keeping our light under a bushel” and not sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. We’re afraid of what people might think. We worry we won’t say the right things.

Those are legitimate worries. However, we lessen the power of the Holy Spirit with thoughts like these. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak. The Holy Spirit will give you the inspiration to speak a word of hope, peace, love and forgiveness to those you meet.

Your feet might not be beautiful to you. They might have corns, bunions and funky toenails. To God, when you share the good news, your feet are beautiful.

Eileen Woyen is a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Albert Lea.