Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire yet the bush was not consumed. 3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; take your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3: 1-5
I bet Moses would not have been so quick to remove his sandals if previously they had been taken from Station 20, at the end of the pathway that leads to the beach at Sullivan’s Island, SC.
On Monday evening, I went for a walk on the beach. And as I always do and as hundreds of people do, I left my sandals neatly placed on a dune near the station marker. I have done this dozens of times before and my sandals are always still there upon my return. It is an unwritten rule; do not take sandals from the beach. Someone is simply walking barefooted on the sand and will return to retrieve their sandals. But on Monday evening, when I returned, they were gone.
Now of course, the sandals themselves are not the issue. In a heartbeat I could buy another pair of tan Dr. Scholl’s exercise sandals, size 8. The issue of course, is the violation of what I considered to be “holy ground.” That the beach is holy ground may be argued, but for me it is. It is. I leave my sandals behind with a trust as solid as the childlike trust I once placed in the Church. And I am disheartened by the violation of this trust. I wonder what went through that person’s mind as they picked up my sandals and left with them. Were they ignorant of the unwritten rule? Did they think that the sandals had been lost and no one would return for them? Or did they knowingly and with intent, steal my sandals from the beach?
I know. It is a small thing. And yet, it is not. The thief took more from me than a pair of sandals. The loss was a loss of that childlike trust. It was a heartfelt disappointment.
And yet, yesterday I returned for my walk on the beach.
As I drove to Sullivan’s Island I determined to walk with my sandals in my hand.
I arrived at my station.
In absolute defiance of my own distrust, I left my sandals behind on the dune and began my walk.
Andwhen I returned…they were still there.
