Shoes Off

My husband and I did a thing this year that was so unexpected. We invited two female high school exchange students to come and live with us for a school year.  We are not new to this experience, but we did it when we had children in the home.  So, this time as empty nesters we decided to bring in two so they would have someone their own age in the home.  Two trips to the airport, two different languages, two different tastes in food, twice as many questions and twice as much fun.   At first it feels as they are guest to us, and they feel like they are guest in our home.  It takes a few weeks to get settled into a routine and feel comfortable with each other.  One of the first questions that was brought to us from both was about shoes in the house.  Each of them asked if they should take their shoes off at the door.  Tim said, "you take your shoes off when you are in the house?"  "Yes" replied both of them.  "Why?" Tim asked.  One of them explained that when you come in from the outside you bring all the dirt in on your clean floors.  I said, " I should start that practice because I dislike sweeping the floor ALL the time."   It is custom to take your shoes off in temples of the Hindu religion as a sign of humbleness as a part of worship.  Yesterday when I when to church I wore a simple sundress and some sandals.  The sandals were hurting my feet so during worship I slipped them off.  I felt so connected in church as I stood there without my shoes on singing praises to God. Standing there without my shoes brought me right back to the conversation of taking our shoes off in the home.  The church is a place where we can let go of the "dirt" we bring in with us as we enter the sanctuary. God wants us to feel renewed after we come to worship him.  So many times, we leave feeling the same way as we came in.  He wants to take away our burdens and sorrows. Psalm 55.22 reminds " Turns you burdens over to the Lord, and he will take care of you.   He will never let the righteous person stumble.