Saturday, February 20, 2010

Reflections Of The Sole


I have been blessed with dry skin. Yes, I said blessed.


Who, in their right mind, is grateful for dry skin?


OK, so I’m not always in my right mind…just stick with me.


For most of my life the soles of my feet have been dry and rough with deep, painful cracks. Putting on a pair of nylons without running them was nearly impossible. I have tried all kinds of remedies, but to no avail…until I met Burt.


Meet my best friend: Burt’s Bees' Coconut Foot Crème.


I have a little ritual. Every morning when I shower I scrub my feet with a pumice stone. Then after the shower I apply a liberal amount of the Foot Crème on my soles and slip on a pair of socks. I wear the socks as long as possible before getting ready to go. Sometimes at night I’ll put on more crème and wear the socks to bed. When I do this on a regular basis, my feet become soft and supple. I can wear nylons without running them. I can wear sandals and not be embarrassed by my cracked heels. Life is good.


But sometimes I get rushed…or lazy. I skip the pumice stone. Or I don’t want to take the time to rub the crème on and put on the socks. It’s a thick, oily crème that requires a little time to rub in (like maybe 30 seconds). So I skip that. If this only happens once or twice it’s not too noticeable. It might take a few times of getting back in the habit before my feet are soft again, but it’s not too hard.


Sometimes, however, I get out of the habit. Way out of the habit. So far out that my feet become very dry. They begin to crack. Then they begin to bleed. It is painful to walk on them. It hurts to put shoes on. Life is not good.


When I ponder on this as I am showering and scrubbing my feet I think of this scripture from Isaiah:


How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! ~Isaiah 52:7


I have another little ritual. Every morning I awake at 5:50am. I get dressed and gather a pillow, a blanket, my scriptures and my ponderings journal. I drive my daughter to seminary and while she is in class I snuggle down in the seat, say a prayer, and read and ponder my scriptures. When I do this on a regular basis my soul becomes soft and supple. I am open to the inspirations of the spirit. I can “run and not be weary, and walk and not faint”. Life is good.


But sometimes I get rushed…or lazy. I skip on the scriptures and take a nap. Or sometimes I just rush through the reading and don’t take the time to really ponder and let the truths sink into my soul. If this only happens once or twice, it’s not too noticeable. It takes me a couple of mornings of getting back into the habit to keep my soul open to enlightment, but it’s not too hard.


Sometimes, however, I get out of the habit. Way out of the habit. So far out that my soul becomes very dry. Relationships become strained, sometimes even painful. I begin to crack. My soul begins to hurt. Life is not good.


My temporal condition is a daily reminder of my spiritual condition. My sole reflects my soul! If I want to keep my feet beautiful, I must take care of them daily. Every morning as I am getting ready for the day and I am tempted to skip the foot crème, I remember the pain of having dry, cracked heels and so I choose to apply the healing balm that will keep my feet soft and supple. Likewise, this little ritual reminds me that if I want to bring good tidings and peace to those around me, I must keep my soul beautiful by applying the healing balm of the Word of God each day.


And that, my friends, is why I am blessed with dry skin.


5 comments:

Maine Mom said...

I am blessed to have your words of wisdom. :-) I will think of this post when I am tempted to skip the treatment of my hands. Like you, I get lazy and end up with cracked fingers that are painful. The daily nourishment of our spirits is so important and fortunately I am better at the daily care of my spirit than my hands!

It's so nice to hear from you. :-)

Yvonne said...

I'm so happy when you post--you ALWAYS make me think. So often my scripture reading (and even my prayers) are rushed. I need to take more time and ponder--it truly does make such a difference. Thank you for this beautiful reminder.

(I can't tell you how often a pair of pantyhose last me one wearing because of dry heels. I'll have to look for the Bert's Bee's foot creme.

Phae-Jae said...

I've been thinking about my own daily nourishment lately! And I have dry skin;)

Love this post, and I love you-ou-ou!

Rebecca Blevins said...

Thank you, Mindy. I needed this post.

Jenny said...

You tell me I have a way with words, but I am always amazed that you don't realize just how wonderful you are with them. Very well put.
And I just want to tell everyone that I introduced you to Burts...yeah, it was me.