“You took good care of them, and for forty years they never lacked a thing. Their clothes didn’t wear out, and their feet were never swollen.”

“You took good care of them, and for forty years they never lacked a thing. Their clothes didn’t wear out, and their feet were never swollen.”

Nehemiah 9:21 CEV

Last night, my dad told me a story from when he was a youth pastor in Atlanta. He did many fundraisers in the early 70’s. He organized ping pong tournaments, he was a great ping pong player. He held fundraising golf tournaments, basketball and softball tournaments. He also organized a 20 mile walk from their church building to end up at the Georgia icon, Stone Mountain.

In his preparation for the journey, he chose to wear his converse shoes. I have never liked converse, especially the old style. Now they are a fad and they were back then. Fashionable, yes. Comfortable, no.

Dad said that it was so hard to finish the walk because his feet were so sore from the flat, no support, and no comfort converse. He recalled how the last half of a mile was the hardest. His feet were sore and swollen. He finished, but not without pain and a couple of days to allow his feet to heal and recover.

As the Israelites recount their history, Ezra reminds them of their ancestors exodus from Egypt. It was a lot of hard work on their part. It was a long and faithful journey to follow God’s leading, not knowing who God was or knowing if God would truly lead them to where He promised to take them.

But after they would walk their daily journey on the desert ground, possibly barefooted, or at least with something a few grades lower than converse, God showed that He was a God who cares. He never let their feet get swollen.

Life will be hard.

Our journey will be long.

But take heart, God remains a God who cares.