Photo by Richard Bell on Unsplash

Brushing the Dust Off

Letting go of hurtful experiences.

I was cleaning our hallway this morning and came across a pair of muddy black boots which had been thrown into the corner. My daughter and I had taken the dog for a walk after a week of rain and her boots, unfortunately, looked like they’d been through the wars.

I lifted the boots to brush the mud off when this verse popped into my head.

‘And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.’ Matthew 10:14

Obviously, back then, people would have worn sandals or gone barefoot. I think today’s equivalent would be to brush the dust off your boots. I don’t believe this verse means turn on your heels and march out in a bad mood. Instead, it’s alluding to not taking the hurt from whatever situation you’ve been through with you when you leave. There is a way to walk through situations without allowing them to affect us deeply.

The boots weren’t ruined because they’d been through the mud, all they needed was to dry off and have a bit of TLC, and they were back to rights.

I have another pair of boots at home, Wellington boots. If any pair of boots was designed to walk through the mud, these are the boots. A few months ago, when we were changing the pond liner in our pond, I discovered there was a problem with these boots. As I was working, I felt my sock get soggy; there was a hole in the sole! As I worked, it got more and more uncomfortable, and at the end of the day, I felt miserable with one cold, soggy (and smelly) foot.

What’s my point? External forces can’t do much damage other than to muddy up the exterior unless there is a point at which they’re able to enter and do damage. The first boots may have looked muddy, but they were water-tight; the dust just needed to be brushed off. When we live like that, it doesn’t matter what life throws at us. However, when there is a wound, the problem is a point of entry that doesn’t immediately get plugged. Excuse the pun, but it’s like having a ‘hole in the soul’.

I have experienced both situations in life:

1. When mud has been thrown, but I’ve been able to brush it off.
2. When I’ve let it into my soul, and it’s done damage.

I think there is a key in the earlier verses which can help us do life better.

As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. Matthew 10:12–13

We have a choice whether to be at peace or not. That word in the original language means:

peace of mind

quietness

rest

to tie together into a whole — wholeness.

When we walk through difficult circumstances, it’s possible to retain our peace of mind, to rest in God, to remain whole. How we let things affect us is our choice. We can choose not to give our peace of mind away. We can choose to quiet and still our souls. We can choose wholeness. I’m not saying that choice is easy, it’s challenging, but it’s possible. Choosing to let go, to brush the dirt off, to forgive is not only a mental health choice but an emotional and spiritual health choice.

If you have let hurt into your soul, don’t ignore it. It doesn’t go away on its own. I’ve heard the soul defined as the mind, the will and the emotions. Healing needs to come in all three areas:

1. The emotions. Be honest about how you are feeling. That doesn’t mean going to everyone and sharing how someone has hurt you (that’s gossip), but it can mean getting some help. Find someone who will listen but will proactively help you shake the dust off.
2. The mind. Unfortunately, I’ve been guilty in the past of running countless scenarios through my mind. They usually run along the lines of what I would want to say to ‘so and so’ if I met them again or what I should have said at the time. This isn’t helpful at all because I can get offended at their ‘imagined’ answers. You can’t shake the dust off if you keep churning it up.
3. The will. We have the amazing ability to choose, whether it’s choosing how to handle our emotions, choosing what we think about or choosing what actions we take. Sometimes our own ‘will’ can take us off track, and we can choose what is unhelpful for us. I think most of us know, deep down, that it’s time to shake the dust off.