Dirty Shoes

As I shared with you in a previous post, I had the honor on Saturday of participating in a wall raising service in Oxford, Ohio. This is the first house that TriState Habitat for Humanity is building in what will be a twenty home subdivision. The subdivision is called Reckford Woods named in honor of the current CEO of Habitat for Humanity Jonathan Reckford. There will be two cul-de-sacs in the subdivision: Carter Court (named after President Jimmy Carter) and Fuller Way (named after Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity).
As a part of the wall raising service, I gave a devotional. In my devotional, I talked about the shoes I was wearing. I shared with those gathered that for the wall raising that these shoes were my wall raising service shoes. They are my old tennis shoes. I don't care if they get dirty or muddy. In fact, when I put them on last Saturday morning, there was still mud on these shoes from the last wall raising service in Northern Kentucky. I also probably had mud from an earlier wall raising service in Clermont County, Ohio.
I told the volunteers and Habitat Partner Family that they would most likely leave with mud or dirt on their shoes and that was okay. They would be taking a little bit of that site with them to where they live and work and learn and play. This is a good thing because at that moment they were standing on holy ground. Before time began, God knew that a miracle would take place on that land. God knew that people from different backgrounds and faith communities would come together for a common purpose. God knew that a family would one day have a safe, decent, affordable home in which to live on that land. By taking that dirt with them on their shoes, the volunteers, staff, and Partner Family were spreading God's holiness and grace out into the world. They were going to also carry their excitement and acts of service with them as well. That mud and dirt is a sign and symbol of God's amazing grace.
When I came home, I noticed that I had some new mud on my shoes. When I saw that mud, I gave God thanks for the miracle that I am a part of that is Habitat for Humanity. I thanked God for the chance I have every day to serve the least of these in our world. I thanked God for the lessons that our Partner Families teach me. I thanked God for the volunteers and staff who work so hard to make the dream of home ownership possible for families living in poverty. I thanked God for the nineteen other families who I have not even met yet who will one day take a step of faith to apply for our home ownership program.
I am truly blessed beyond my wildest dreams. For me, ministry does not get much better than this. I love this work - mud and all!
Thanks for being a part of my journey!