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Jesus and The Barefooted Man
In the sixties she sat on red-velvet and stared at dead mink eyes
Staring back at her while she listened to the sermon
Teased hair, hats and some white gloves, confetti sprinkled among the faithful
The South, the Methodists,
The pearls, sprinkled on a few
Folks listening or planning lunch at the Country Club later
Prime rib or fried chicken, thousand island or blue cheese, sweet tea or sweet tea
And now she wonders about the man with no shoes
He told me the day he went to the Episcopal church without me
I cocked my head and tried to get a visual on the thought
We walked to church a few Sundays later, together down a tree- lined street dripping with moss
On more than a few, old oaks
Passed him, smiling big, he not us
You’re going the wrong way aren’t you?
Headed away from church
He not us
Yeah, going to teach Sunday school
Cheshire cat grin on the barefooted man
And that was the man with no shoes
Seen through the eyes of of the lady who wears the pearls, sometimes
And we sat and rocked and smacked some jaws and asked some questions
Later with folks on the porch
Because this is our sometime home
Who was that man in the barefeet
We asked
And there were opinions and there were things said
And it is still the South
And that is good not bad, but true
Really, we all have a story
And this was an old Episcopal church, after all
Suits and ties, after all
The more I thought
And wondered and took myself down to the deep soul places
I had to dream and cry out to myself
Come Lord Jesus and teach us
Now, how to love all the barefooted souls
Who sit among the mink and pearls
Show us how to love like you
And smile like we are all barefoot
Walking in the wrong direction
Heck, I think every man Jesus touched
Back in the dusty sandal days was barefooted
Walking
I want to walk beside
And wash and love
All the feet
And know the name of the barefooted man
I loathe labels
But I do love a Cheshire cat grin on a barefooted- man running after Jesus
In the “wrong” direction.
elizabeth w. marshall 
running after Him, running hard
oh wow. Elizabeth. you echo my heart. i absolutely love this one. one of your best ever.
and i really laughed at “sweet tea or sweet tea.” ha!
“the barefoot man, running after Jesus” AMEN AND AMEN. That is absolutely stunning my friend. What a good reminder that sometimes searching after Him looks different than the way that we have always done it.
Show us how to love like you
And smile like we are all barefoot
Walking in the wrong direction
I agree with Kelli. This is one of my very favorites, Elizabeth. May we have eyes to see past our own pearls. Thank you, dear one.
beautiful. We all need to see through Jesus’ eyes and I know I fail miserably. Thank you for your insight, your words and this post. Lovely. I have missed you. DAF
Lovely! Thanks for sharing these beautiful words and images. The mink staring back, the plans for thousand island and sweet tea later, the pearls and the bare feet of a man with a Cheshire Cat grin.