I have been asked why I go barefoot in church, a practice that began a few years ago. In case you have noticed and been wondering:
I go barefoot because …
I remember the words from Exodus, “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.”
I go barefoot because …
it reminds me “I am but dust and to dust I shall return.”
I go barefoot because …
it keeps me grounded.
I go barefoot because …
it gets me “out of my head” and awake-alert in the Present Moment.
I go barefoot because …
it actively engages the 29 muscles in each of my feet and keeps me on my toes.
I go barefoot because …
it makes me take care of my feet in a way I otherwise might not.
I go barefoot because …
it’s a reminder my DNA carries both the oppressor (Spanish colonists who wore shoes)
and the oppressed (indigenous peoples who did not).
I go barefoot because …
it keeps me consciously connected to and one with the earth.
I go barefoot because …
it reminds me leadership is about servanthood.
I go barefoot because …
it recalls the night Jesus got on his knees to wash his friends’ feet.
I go barefoot because …
I can dance at any given moment.
I go barefoot because …
it feels good.
Take off, take off your shoes.
This place you’re standing, it’s holy ground.
Take off, take off your shoes.
The spot you’re standing, it’s holy ground.
These words I heard in my burning bush.
This place you’re standing, it’s holy ground.
I heard my fiery voice speak to me.
This spot you’re standing, it’s holy ground.
That spot is holy, holy ground.
That place you stand, it’s holy ground.
This place you tread, it’s holy ground.
God made this place his holy ground.
Take off your shoes and pray.
The ground you walk, it’s holy ground.
Take off your shoes and pray.
The ground you walk, it’s holy ground.
Every spot on Earth, I traipse around.
Every spot I walk, it’s holy ground.
Every spot on Earth, I traipse around.
Every spot I walk, it’s holy ground.
Every spot, it’s holy ground.
Every little inch, it’s holy ground.
Every grain of dirt, it’s holy ground.
Every spot I walk, it’s holy ground.
- “Holy Ground,” Woody Guthrie, 1954
Love,