The Foot Files, from Sole to Soul: Deep Heeling.

My footfile and pumice stone have been gathering a lot of dust recently. But the dust hasn't come from my feet. It's actually come from inactivity rather than activity. I haven't had to use them in a while now, so they're just sitting in the corner of the bathroom getting dusty.

 I can assure you I still have a foot care routine, but I've had to modify it. Years and years of neglecting to take care of my feet have resulted in some very deep cracks in my heels. Filing was doing absolutely nothing to eliminate this and I soon realised that something else needed to be done.

 I didn't have to go to google, or any other search engine to find out who could help me with my cracked heel problem. I already knew. The world famous podiatrist and foot care specialist...Dr Scholl's. 10 out of 10  to him for an excellent subliminal half century advertising campaign. I'm such a sucker for a brand name!

So off I went to the drug store, and headed straight for the foot care aisle. I was overwhelmed by all the choices. I looked at this product and that product, and was having a hard time making a decision when out of the corner of my eye, I saw this.  Flexitol? Who? I'd never even heard of this company before, but I liked what I saw. I read the blurb on the back of the box. That was it..."soled"  So much for brand loyalty. Why the switch? Well, quite simply, it was because of the two little photographs on the front of the box depicting what my feet could possibly look like, if I used  their product for as little as two weeks. Sorry Dr Scholl's, I may be a sucker for a brand name, but a before and after pic will trump a brand name every time!

Ahhh heel balm. Even the name sounded soothing. I could hardly wait to try it. I rushed home and quickly opened the box. It had a pleasant, but strong medicinal smell. Sort of like Buckley's for feet. I was excited. I just knew it was going to work. The instructions said to apply the balm twice a day, morning and evening, which I did, (with a few additional applications in between.,,,c'mon guys, you have to understand the level of  my neglect here.) And do you know what? Remarkably I did begin to see a difference, after just a few days. Talk about a miracle "heeling."

I have found that my soul has walked a very similar path as my soles.  By that I mean, there have been times, more times than I care to mention, that I have neglected my relationship with God. Completely turned away from Him.  And as a result, there have been some deep cracks, so to speak, in my soul.

But it's not just me is it? Surely not. In fact, the Bible has carefully chronicled all the times that God's people have turned their backs on Him. Begining in Genesis 3, with the fall of man, but unfortunately it didn't stop there.  Things continued in much the same way, until God felt it was necessary to destroy the whole earth with a flood. And even having cleansed the earth, saving only Noah and his family, God's people began to procreate, but they also began (of course) to fall away. Humanity, once again, turned its back on God.

Gilead is a region east of the Jordan river, famous for producing a resinous gum substance from the balsam poplar tree. This "balm of Gilead" was said to have healing qualities and was widely exported and used by physicians for healing.
Yet during the time of Jeremiah, godlessness upon the earth became so rife, that the prophet lamented, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wounds of my people?"  (Jer.8 vs 22) In other words, Jeremiah asked the question "How is it that a people who trade in balm, be so sick?"  This was of course referring to a sickness of soul, not of body. And sadly, at that time, there was no balm that could cure them.
 
Fast forward 585 years and Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem. Seeing the plight of all humanity, God sent His son from heaven to earth with one purpose. To be our Saviour. It was for our salvation that Jesus came and through Him, all humanity could receive eternal life and healing from the only one who was able to give it to us... God Himself. Jesus was the balm to heal our souls. He was and still is. And if you (like me) need a before and after pic to validate His claim, take a look at the manger and then at the cross. I don't need a multimillion ad campaign to convince me on this one.  I'm "soled" Nuff said.

So now, just as with my heel balm, I have to remember to apply God's balm, Jesus, to my daily life. I can do that by having a relationship with Him. Turning toward Him and not away from Him. Reading His word and by prayer and meditation. I'm sure the "miraculous" results will follow quite quickly if I do this consistently. Daily. Well, as many times as day as is necessary. Only then will I experience inner peace, and joy from deep within my soul.

What great news that is, but what's even better is that this "balm" is available outside of drug store hours and completely free. So go ahead, apply God's love through Jesus lavishly. And let the healing begin!




footnote: I suppose now you expect a before and after pic of my feet...don't be a heel!