The Strap of His Sandal

“He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” John 1:27

Last year as I was praying I heard the question raised in my spirit, “Who is worthy to untie the straps of My sandal?” Everything within me got very quiet. As I waited with held breath, the answer was pressed down upon my heart. There is not even one who is considered worthy. As I exhaled, an understanding was released over me and something about this truth has marked my days in a very profound way ever since.

A few months ago, we got into candle making, which started as a homeschool project, but quickly became an avenue the Holy Spirit has flowed through. We began by just having fun, but a few weeks into it, I had a dream where I was making thousands of candles in a warehouse. When I woke up, I was telling Patrick there was a holy weight on this dream, and in the conversation the idea came to me to make candles based on Bible verses.

The first Scripture that surfaced on my heart is John 1:27, so my mom with her collection of Bible oils produced a special blend that could be paired with leather oil and in one afternoon a dream became a reality. As I was cutting the leather straps to place on top of the warm wax, a deep reverence swept over the kitchen. And as I wrapped them around my fingers to slowly place around the wick, I thought tenderly about the feet of Jesus. The footprints of a new covenant breaking ground upon an old testament earth. The way creation must have cradled the Creator’s feet in a way we’ll never know. The sound of Jesus walking toward the weary with a promised rest and a kindness that still renders us speechless. And the steps that perfectly accomplished His Father’s will that we’re still following today.

When this candle is lit and the fragrance of leather and earth meet the air, the atmosphere beckons us to get lower and to find His footprint here in my home and lay my face inside of it. As I reach for His sandal knowing the straps are not for me to untie, I find His heart placed in my hands with the most vulnerable moment of His grace given to me … and I experience the revelation of His sacrificial love all over again. For the one who confesses their unworthiness gains the heart of the One whose sandals still walk the whole earth in pursuit of the ones He came to save and love forever.