A mile in my shoes?

I will admit it. Proudly, even. Although, geographically, I should be considered a Yankee - in my heart and heritage, I am all HICK! You can thank my grandmother - I do! She was born and raised in the Smoky Mountains, came from a coal mining family, married young into another coal mining family, one leg's shorter than the other from walking on the side of the mountains - LOL! I can very easily fall into a thick Southern drawl. I know how far "yonder" is, and I know when to stop when I've gone "a fer piece." And I am barefoot whenever possible. Seasons don't matter. I've been known to go to my car in the dead of winter, snow on the ground, with no shoes on. (What's your point?)

As a result of this penchant for shoelessness, my feet aren't really attractive. They're tough. They have rough spots. They are callused. Calluses formed from doing the same things repeatedly, and not taking care of the damage immediately. I hate those calluses! they are ugly and, well, just plain gross! When they get too much for me, I will attempt to remove them with a razor or something else which, especially in my hands, is dangerously sharp. Let's just say I'll never be a foot model.

I was reading in Deutoronomy today. Chapter 30, verse 6 says: "GOD, your God, will cut away the thick calluses on your heart...freeing you to love GOD, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live, really live." (The Message) I'd never thought about my heart being callused, but the more I meditated, the more I realized how thick and tough and impenetrable my heart can sometimes be. Life has bombarded my heart. Each blow has caused a place on my heart to harden in an effort to protect itself. This verse tells me that I can't remove the thick covering which is, in essence, suffocating my heart - He must do it. And since I've done the same things repeatedly, and the calluses are so thick and dense, He'll have to cut it away. Once that faulty "protection" is gone, I will be free! Life will still bombard my heart with pain and fear and disappointment, but HE will protect me. HE will shield my heart much more effectively than anything I can do on my own. And my heart will remain soft and tender. I wouldn't mind being able to model that...