Ensenada - Day Six : “Soft Hearts and Hard Feet”
One of the delights of coming to Mexico, is the chance to spend time with Rick & Tammie Romano, and their family. They are wonderfully warm and engaging people, who are tireless in their efforts to work with us, and support us in our endeavors. Yet behind that warmth, there are two people who, in my humble opinion, work so hard in this endeavor, putting up with a great deal of hardship living in this part of the world, and facing a relentless schedule which is virtually seven days a week from April until the end of September. You have to be tough to do that, and to make it happen year after year.
I am reminded of the story of Jackie Pullinger, who at 21 felt God call her to Hong Kong to work with the drug addicts, the prostitutes and gang members. 21 - unbelievable! Yet 44 years later she is still there, and God is using her in remarkable ways. I love the quote from her, she said:
‘God wants us to have soft hearts and hard feet. The trouble with so many of us is that we have hard hearts and soft feet.’ Christians should have hard feet in that they should be tough rather than morally weak or ‘wet’.
I think Rick and Tammie exemplify this challenge to us all so well. They put up with so much, and take on tough challenges, yet they have soft hearts, hearts that are filled with compassion. The toughness is in their feet, not their heart.
Here in Mexico we get the opportunity to see and experience those qualities first hand. Yet this approach to life should not be reserved for the Missionaries of this world. We are all called to serve. We are all called to live out God’s plan for our lives. However, if we have “soft feet and hard hearts”, we won’t hear God’s call, nor have the sacrificial toughness to execute the call. The world calls us constantly to the alluring path that is meant to be easy but is it?
Instead we all need “soft hearts and hard feet”. Surely following after God has to be the most exciting and fulfilling undertaking of our lives? Of course it will not always be the easiest path. It may involve difficult choices, and self sacrifice. But is it worth it? I leave that to you to decide.
