Beautiful are the Feet

“I love my neighborhood. It’s a quiet Mormon community. No drugs, no guns being fired in the middle of the night. It’s perfect.”

“Do the Mormons come around and try to convert you?” The woman asked.

“I’m a Buddhist,” Kim replied. “I have a large statue of Buddha sitting in the entry to my home. They take one look at him and realize I’m not interested in their religion.”

“Who is Buddha?” the woman asked.

“He’s a spiritual leader….like Jesus.”

Kim continued talking as she worked on my wife’s feet. She lives just a few miles from us but commutes to Cave Creek, where she does pedicures and manicures at a spa. My wife had been threatening for years to take me in to get a pedicure. We’re on vacation and I didn’t have a good reason not to go, so I finally surrendered. My dry cracked feet were being cared for by a young woman named Sandy, whose English was hard for me to understand. She communicated mostly by tapping on one foot or the other, gesturing for me to put it back in the water bath or remove it.

Kim and I talked as she worked on my wife’s feet. We’d found common ground. She graduated from the University of Washington nursing school and had worked at the UW hospital and at Harborview, including a brief stint as a charge nurse in the ER. I’d brought a lot of patients into Harborview. The more we talked, the more she wondered if we’d met before. I knew she would recognize one patient, who was a frequent flyer at Harborview. I asked if she remembered Cecil. Her face lit up. “Oh man, we treated him so many times. I remember  one time when he vomited all over me.” I told her the story of how he got clean and sober. She was astounded.

Kim got up to get some supplies she needed. She mentioned that her big toe was sore after accidentally kicking one of the wooden cabinets. I relaxed as Sandy pampered my feet, confident the Holy Spirit was about to open a door.

When my wife’s feet were done, Kim led her to a chair at a counter where she began working on her nails. My masculinity had suffered all the assault it could take for one day. I wasn’t willing to risk losing my man card by having my nails done.  I listened as Denise told Kim about the books I’d written, including the one on divine healing.  Sandy wrapped my legs and feet in warm towels that seemed to be soaked in menthol. They tingled like they were submerged in a cloud of glory.

When Sandy had finished my pedicure, I took a seat at the counter next to Denise. Kim was just finishing her nails. She gave Denise a total bill for the pedicure and manicure and Denise handed her a debit card. Kim went to the register to process the transaction. “Kim, I’d like to talk with you about your toe when you get back.” She shot me a suspicious glance but kept walking.

When she returned, I asked her to take a seat next to me. “So tell me a little more about your toe.”

She pulled up a chair. “Well like I said, I accidentally kicked this wooden cabinet and it hurts like crazy.”

“Do you think it’s broken?”

“I don’t know, but it’s bruised, swollen, and pretty painful.”

I’d like to see if I can get it healed. I’ve seen a few miracles…”

“I know… Denise told me.”

“Okay, right. So how about you put your foot on my knee?” She blushed and turned away. “Hey, it’s okay. You can trust me.” She looked back at me as if she sensed something important was about to happen. She took her shoe off and with reluctance, gently placed her foot on my knee. “On a scale from one to ten, how bad is the pain. You’re a nurse, so you should be good at this.”

“It’s about an eight,” she said laughing.

I placed my hand about an inch from her toe. “I command bones. ligaments, muscles nerves and soft tissue to be healed. I command spirits of pain to leave. I command inflammation to leave. Toe, be healed right now.” I asked if she felt anything.

She smiled, “Yeah, it feels like… tingling.”

Well, my legs are tingling, too. But I don’t have any menthol on my hands, so it’s not from me. Move your toe around. Does it still hurt?”

She wiggled her toe. “It doesn’t hurt at all. It feels great!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay, do me  a favor…can I take a picture of your foot?”

“Let me put my shoe back on.”

Kim was excited to be healed and asked for my website and Facebook information, which I wrote on her notepad. Denise and I both gave her a hug before leaving. I’m glad I finally gave in a got a pedicure. But even more glad Jesus came along and showed Kim who He really is.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things.
Isa 52:7