January 5th

“As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.” Ephesians 6:15

God kneels down,
lacing up our shoes,
not with knots of dogmatism
but with threads of mercy,
not so we can run away
but for that long journey to faithfulness.
no matter what we think
peace is not the stilling of anger
but daring to walk barefoot
on shards of angry discourse,
to stroll grief’s sidewalks,
to risk stumbling over that
potholed ground of grace.
may every step we take
become prayers—
into hospices where death
lurks in every shadow,
into living rooms where
the silence of grief lives,
down those neighborhoods
where people are forgotten
the vulnerable are evicted.
and when we come home,
God smiles,
slipping off our shoes
to soak our aching feet
in the warm waters of love.

© 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman