washing our feet.

i said in an earlier post about how our ceremony was a little broken from tradition. about how people focus on the reception more than the ceremony. but crafting the ceremony was very important for josh and i. the key elements we wanted to portray were: loving Christ above all, serving each other, and remembering our mission Jesus invited us into. so we wanted our first act of marriage to be an act of service. for us to always remember to serve each other and count one another greater than ourselves (phillipians 2:1-11) so we couldn't think of any better act of service in the bible (other than Jesus dying on the cross)  than Jesus washing his disciples feet. a big custom for that time was washing feet for each other. people wore sandals and walked in dirt all day. so their feet were extremely dirty. so when you enetered a house, someone would wash your feet. usually a servant. so in John 13, Jesus washes his disciples feet. humbles himself to be a servant. it is remarkably beautiful. libby and ryder did this in thier wedding ceremony and josh and i loved the idea. so we couldnt think of anything more beautiful to do. we washed each others feet. literally. after we were pronounced husband and wife, our friend jacob read scripture that dipicted what josh and i want our lives to be about. what we feel the Lord has called us into:

matthew 5:13-16
"¹³"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. ¹⁴ "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."


we want to be the salt of the earth and light to the world. that is our mission in life. love Jesus. and portray him in our lives together. and so josh and i washed each others feet with salt water [appropriate on so many levels]. and i cannot tell you how amazing it was. because the second half of that verse is about light and the time of the ceremony was perfect because the light came in through the big french doors just right. seriously just right. it was shining on josh and i perfectly and it was an indescribable moment. literally. indescribable. it felt freeing. and passionate. and loving. and right. i know God blessed us with that hot july sun in that moment. as we washed each others feet with salt water and the light came upon us. Jesus was there. his presence was there and it was very moving.


over and over people have told us how special and different our ceremony was. and they are right. it was special and different because in a society today that so often looks past togetherness and focuses on being an individual, we chose to focus on how Jesus brought us together. and for that the Lord blessed us and continues to. we are so blessed. 


post.script.
we have some pictures on this website and there is one of us washing each others feet. check it out here. there are more pictures in that gallery too, check them all out here. more pictures to come- soon i hope!

washing our feet.