Last month CAP’s Family Advocacy program hosted the 12th annual Women’s Retreat at Camp AJ. Our theme this year came from 1 Peter 4:10, “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
Throughout the retreat, service was continually mentioned and emphasized. After serving in the Peace Corps for two years and at CAP this year, service is one of my passions so I was thrilled to be able to share that passion with the women in attendance. The retreat provided a time for these ladies to have a break from their hectic lives and have a chance to get away, spend some time with new friends, and set aside time for God.
The days of the retreat were filled with various activities and speakers. The ladies enjoyed getting dressed up to take glamour shots with friends and family, doing arts and crafts, and singing hymns and worship songs. They spent their free time fishing in the lake, sitting on the porch, or exploring beautiful Camp AJ. 
One of the most powerful experiences for me at Women’s Retreat occurred on Wednesday morning. Another volunteer, Theresa, and I led a foot washing service. We started out by playing “The Servant Song.” Brother, let me be your servant Let me be as Christ to you Pray that I might have the grace To let you be my servant too This verse includes everything Theresa and I wanted to convey to the women through our foot washing service. While service is important and is what Jesus taught us to do, Jesus also insisted that we must at times be served as well.
After the song we read John 13:1-17, the passage at the Last Supper when Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. After the passage, I led a reflection in which I emphasized how important it is to serve others. Jesus tells us, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (John 13:15) Theresa then talked about the importance of letting others serve you. In the scripture, Peter tells Jesus that He will never wash his feet. Peter does not want to be served by Jesus, but Jesus tells him “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me” to which Peter replies, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” (John 13:8-9)
Though Peter was uncomfortable with being served, as many of us are, Jesus tells us that to have inheritance with Him, we must allow others to serve us. We must expose our deepest insecurities, our sins, our dirty feet to Jesus so that we can be cleansed by Him when He washes our feet. Through the washing of the feet, we allow another to be Jesus to us as we are served and have our feet washed, and are Jesus to another as we serve them by washing their feet. After a short time of reflection, Theresa and I modeled how to wash one another’s feet. A symbolic and simple pouring of water over one or both feet, and then drying the foot with a towel. We anticipated some hesitation among the women, but before we were finished washing one another’s feet, there were already a few women lined up at both foot washing stations. 
The response was nothing like what I was expecting. Towards the end of the line, there was a family of women that had touched my heart since I met them on Tuesday morning. The mother has been coming to Women’s Retreat every year since it began. This year, she brought her daughter and two cousins of the family along. The cousin’s brother had passed away a few short days before Women’s Retreat, so they were dealing with many feelings of grief and loss. With tear-filled eyes, the women stood up together and approached my foot-washing station. As the mother sat down, her daughter and cousins together poured water over her feet and ever-so-gently took water from the basin, cupped it in their hands, and gently washed her feet. Seeing the love outpoured within this hurting family, tears started falling down my cheeks as I watched them dry her feet carefully and slowly rise to their feet to embrace each other. I could feel Jesus comforting that family through the act of the foot washing, the hugs, the love emanating around the room.
I was so grateful to be a part of that moment, to witness the love of Jesus in such a substantial way. We ended the foot washing with this prayer: Gracious and loving Father, we rejoice in the gifts of love we have received from the heart of Jesus your Son. Teach us to see Christ in the lives we touch, to offer Him living worship by love-filled service to our brothers and sisters. Help us to always use Your gifts wisely and teach us to share them generously. Send your Holy Spirit to work through us, bringing Your message to those we serve. May our faithful stewardship bear witness to the love of Jesus Christ in our lives. We pray with grateful hearts, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Anna B. is a Family Advocacy Caseworker in Rockcastle County. Anna is a graduate of The Ohio State University. Opinions expressed in volunteer blogs are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of CAP or the Volunteer Program.
