Walk A Mile In Her Shoes

After ten days of being here I find myself wanting things to do and wanting to make friends with people around here, but it's so hard when the language is so tough still. Well, God has filled that void for me.

Maria is our maid for the next four months while we're house sitting here in the D.R. I wasn't sure how it was going to be having someone else clean my house...seemed kind of wierd. We met her for the first time two days after we got here. My first impression of her was that she was very sweet, yet very needy and she spoke absolutely NO English. :)

She comes every Monday and Thursday and since yesterday was a holiday she came today, Friday. My heart nearly broke as she walked in the door with her sandals in her hand and began to explain to me that the strap had broken on her way over and that she walked most of the way with one sandal on. Maria walks for about 45 minutes to an hour to get to our house to clean. It broke my heart at the thought of walking on these roads without a sandal. I can barely drive on them...let alone walk.

I began to think of Jesus and all he did for his people and the example he set for us. He told us to help the poor, give to them, feed them, help them in any way that we can. A lot of the people here have nothing, barely enough food to eat and no clean water to drink.

As Maria was finishing up outside Wyatt and I came back to our bedroom and we were looking at pictures. My mind drifted for a few minutes and I caught myself staring over at the ten pairs of shoes/flip flops that I had brought from home. TEN! And Maria had one pair...and they broke, with little or no money to be able to get new ones.

Packing everything up and moving to another country...I feel like I have hardly anything, yet I have everything. I have more than I need. God is truly opening my eyes to the culture around me and I am grateful for his calling to the D.R. to allow Him to work through Hans and I, and even the boys to love the Dominicans and show them what following Jesus really looks like.

Now, as I sit here and look over at my nine pairs of shoes...I think, I still have a lot of shoes.

Go ahead...walk a mile in someone else's shoes sometime...and maybe even give them your shoes so that when they walk that mile next time it might be a little easier.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8