Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: PRESENT (07/16/20)
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TITLE: Be Where Your Feet Are | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
07/20/20 -
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My mother would always send along fresh chocolate chip cookies and a small carton of milk for me. I would be there an hour and would catch up on all the adventures of a lifetime ago. I was in my early teens and suffering my first crush. He played football and I tried to cheer when I could focus. I had run out of things to say in this weekly visit with “gram” so I took the plunge.
“Gram, how do you show someone that you really care about them?”
She arched her eyebrows but didn’t stop the sip. When the teacup had found its nest in the saucer again she smiled and that’s the first time I heard a saying which would change my life. She said, “Be where your feet are.”
Of course, I didn’t understand what she was trying to say. I waited but she raised the cup for another sip. “What do you mean?”
Gram set the tea aside and rested her white bun on the back of the Lazy Boy. For a few minutes, she was lost in another world. I knew to wait so I kept eating my cookie and reached for another.
“I was your age when I saw my first love,” she started. “He was a clerk at the candy store. All week long I would babysit, clean up houses and do whatever it took to get a few pennies so I could be at that store each Saturday morning. At first, we smiled and then one day he touched my fingers as he gave me the candy.”
“What happened then?”
She was lost in memories for a moment and then lifted her teacup. “Oh, you’ve come,” she said. “Where were we?”
“You were telling me about the boy at the candy store.”
“Ah, yes. Albert. I did the same thing you are doing. I went to my Sunday School teacher before class and asked her how you know if you care for someone.”
“And what did she say?”
“She told me what I told you. Be where your feet are.”
“But I don’t know what that means.”
She nodded. “It took me a long time to figure it out as well. My teacher told me that when I did figure it out I would understand better what she meant that Jesus would never leave me nor forsake me.”
“Okay.”
“You see, when your heart gets pumping and your mind starts dreaming of everything that might or might not happen you forget to be fully present where you are. Sometimes fear or anxiety swallows you up and you can’t talk or listen and you miss the opportunity to share who you are with the other person.”
“So, how did you do that with Albert?”
“Albert?” Her eyebrows knit together. “How do you know about Albert?”
She reached out and lifted her cup again. The smile returned. “Ah, Albert. Yes, he was such a wonderful young man. You know, I used to work all week to get pennies so I could be at that candy store.”
“So, what happened when your fingers touched? Did you figure out what it meant to be where your feet are?”
She shook her head no. “Not at all, child. That was years later when I had your mother. Some days, I wanted to run away from that child because I was so tired. One day, I realized what my Sunday School teacher meant. I had to be fully present right where I was and give myself one-hundred percent to the situation God had put in front of me.”
“So, being where your feet are is believing that God put me where I am for a reason and that I need to trust him with my mind and heart to do what I need to do with whoever I’m with.”
“Yes, child.” She took another sip of tea.
“But, what happened with Albert?”
She finished her tea and set down the cup with satisfaction. “Oh, I married him of course.”
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