HD Homilies- Boots

This past Sunday our church sponsored a line-dancing class.  I know it may seem unusual for a Baptist church to encourage dancing.  Although we dance at our church, we don’t all do it well, hence the lessons.  The night was a lot of fun as we reviewed some classic dances such as “The Electric Slide” and The Cupid Shuffle.”  Our instructor also taught us some new steps, demonstrating a lot of grace and patience along the way.

ENan and I have just recently learned a new line-dance called “Boots On the Ground.”  (To be honest, ENan has learned the steps and I am getting close.)  We first saw “Boots on the Ground” demonstrated by a group of line dancers at the Strawberry Festival in Wallace - our “stomping ground.”  (Excuse the pun.)  To perform the dance properly, you need a collapsible hand fan that pops when you snap it open.  It is a fun dance to watch and even more fun to participate.

I saw a report on the news this week that Virginia State University invited all of their graduating class to join in dancing “Boots on the Ground” as part of their commencement ceremony.  They even taped fans under the seat of every graduate!  At the close of the ceremony, the chancellor of the university said, “We have our boots on the ground and our graduates are ready to hit the ground running!”

I love that word of encouragement.  There are a lot of folks getting ready to walk into a new phase of life.  High school and college graduates.  Couples getting married, having children.  Parents sending children off to college.  Folks - like me - stepping into the world of the retired.  God told Moses to take his shoes off when he encountered the burning bush, “for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)  But Moses had to put those same shoes back on his feet because God’s next words to Moses were “Go!”

A local DJ on the pop radio station I listened to as a teenager used to sign off each night by saying, “If you’re going to leave footprints in the sands of time, you’re going to have to wear work boots.

Lace ‘em up tight.  It’s a long and winding road.

-Dr. Jim Baldwin