As a child, I watched a tv show called, “The Beverly Hillbillies”. It was a comedy where the hillbilly family hits oil on their land and moves to Beverly Hills, California. It was fun to watch and Granny looked and acted a good bit like my own mother. The theme song had this line in it, “Take your shoes off, sit a spell”. It was (and is) a wonderful notion, to just slip off your shoes, relax and feel like family.
Even today, here in the South, you might just hear that phrase. It is a sign of welcome and hospitality to the visitor. Now, the origin is probably practical, as in “don’t track the mud in”, and represents that the visitor may come inside and stay longer. Or is it deeper than that? The origin is in the Old Testament where God tells people to take off their shoes, they stand on Holy ground. It is a moment of faith, a moment of deep respect and of trust. You are not likely to feel the need to run away when you are barefooted.
Perhaps, there is even more to it. Let’s think about the phrase to “take your shoes off and sit a spell”. It is a sign to the visitor that they can conduct their business inside the house, not on the porch, outside in the weather. Taking one’s shoes off is an act of great trust on the visitor’s part. It is a symbol of mutual trust and welcome and relationship. It might also be that we don’t track the “mud” of the world into that place of mutual trust and holiness.
You see, dear ones, this is actually about our relationship with God and how we should be in that relationship with God. Every moment should be “Holy Ground” for us. Every moment we are in a trusting relationship with the One who loves us most deeply. But, it means we have to slip our shoes off; that we have to commit to staying awhile; and, that we have to feel at home in the Holy Ground of God’s great and very personal love.
So, today, find a quiet place, slip your shoes off and sit a spell with the One who loves you above all else. You are then on Holy Ground.
TMM