I love slow days. Afternoons with no agenda other than slow play and enjoyed shared company. They make space for unexpected gems, precious moments.
Like the time my eldest decided that she would wash my feet with “bubble water” from her water table as I sat in the garden washing them splash. Two minutes later, little sis joined in. And in the midst of the giggles and pretend protests of “cold toes!” I looked down and saw the little people I serve daily, week in week out, serve me.
And my heart melted. Because one day, someday, they won’t need me every minute of every day as they do now. Maybe one day, when my youth has faded, they will look after me as I did them.
And in that moment, I remembered what Christ did and said,
12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
(John 13: 12-16)