What we carry from town to town

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July 9, 2021  •  
Tracy Earl Welliver

man taking off his shoes at home

In my experience, there are two kinds of people: the folks who kick off their shoes the second they walk through the door, and the ones who don’t.

People can feel strongly about this on both sides. The main thrust of the Shoes-Off Brigade seems to be this: we track a lot of weird stuff on the soles of our feet. Little reminders of all the places we’ve been — whether it’s a private home or a public bathroom — cling to our shoes long after we leave.

This same theory applies to our spiritual lives. As human beings and as disciples, we visit a lot of figurative towns and pick up a lot of figurative dust. Sinfulness. Shame. Defeat. Anger. Fear. Doubt. No matter how hard we try to keep free of it, these things have a way of attaching themselves to us, sometimes without us even noticing. We need to take a good look at what unhelpful and unconstructive baggage from our past we’re tracking into our present and future encounters.

What is the “town” God is asking you to visit today in His name? Is it a tough conversation with a friend, a brief witness to a stranger in the checkout line, a call to be present to someone in your family? Before you go, remember, shake off the dust. Don’t let a past disappointment constrain you. Don’t allow yesterday’s failures or burdens to keep you from the joy of today’s witness, whatever form it might take.

— Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS

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