Back in the 70’s when the weather was warm and summer still had some breath left in it, I was blessed to spend part of my teenage years on the back of a horse. Granddad knew that a boy that age needed something in his hands or the boy would fill them full of T-R-O-U-B-L-E! My cousin Rod and I would pedal over to Uncle Bob’s and Aunt Jeans and see just what adventure would unfold for us, which hopefully included sitting high on a horse.
After spending a little time digging thistles, pitching out a stall or shoeing a horse, Uncle Bob’s eyes would light up because a new exciting activity was getting ready to happen. At that age I was 160 lbs or so and I was told to saddle the tall gelding named Skipper, not named after the big guy in the blue polo shirt that crashed the S.S. Minnow onto a deserted island, but named Skipper because that big ole boy had some mighty big and lazy feet! Uncle Bob would usually pick a SPIRIT animal to ride, like a young colt he was breaking, or that big ornery strawberry Roan stud-horse named Snoopy. Snoopy and Uncle Bob always had a different idea as too how the day was going to unfold, either the will of that 1300 pound beast or that of 5’7” Scotch-Irish Uncle Bob’s! Now if I was you, I would bet on Uncle Bob!! It’s not physical size that matters but the size of his determination. But rest assured, it was going to be an adventure, and it kept me on my toes, or at times, on my backside.
When the time came, we would either load the horses and travel to Dooms, Crimora or Horse-Head Rock and head up and across the Skyline Drive, or just mount up and ride southeast towards the mountains on the back roads around the Piedmont. I was sitting up high because Skipper was 17.5 hands tall. There is nothing like being up sky-high off the ground and getting comfortable with the rhythm of your horse, and then hearing the hoof drag across the road or rock and feeling a bit unstable in the saddle. Which was immediately followed by a stern loud command from Uncle Bob; “PICK UP YOUR FEET”! Skipper rolled his ears back, as he heard the voice of his master! Skipper had a habit of being a bit lazy and not planting his big feet squarely on the ground, and I was thinking about him losing his balance and ending up squishing little ole me! After all, Tennessee Walkers are well known for their smooth gate and sure-footedness and not this slip-sliding away thing! We all survived another day, and staying out of Big T-R-O-U-B-L-E was accomplished! Uncle Bob took responsibility for any small trouble that may have surfaced along the way!!
You know, maybe Skipper may be a good nickname for me! I’m not an especially tall man but you see sometimes I haphazardly don’t ensure that my feet are planted squarely on the road, you know, the one to salvation. My feet, and the rest of me, get busy and lazy at times. Every now and then, I too need to hear that reminder shouted at me “PICK UP YOUR FEET” and as St. Paul reminds us today: “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.” (Col 3:5-7) PICK UP YOU FEET! Quit walking on the quick sands of death! Saint Augustine points out: “God will cleanse your sins if you yourself are dissatisfied with yourself and will keep on changing until you are perfect.” (Sermons on 1 John, 1:7)
In this delusional world it is ever so important to keep planting our feet securely. There are all kinds of slippery rocks and hazards as we struggle on our climb of the great mountains in our lives. In the mornings as we begin our new adventures, we ask the Most Compassionate Theotokos to help us Pick Up Our Feet by “standing aright in the way of Christ’s commandments!” And also: “Guide me to the path of repentance, for I am tossed in the storm of life.” (Morning Prayers – Jordanville Prayer Book pg 21)
St. Paul warns the folks in Colossians in today’s Epistle readings: “Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.” (Col 3:6-7) We have all sinned and been lazy with our eternal future. We are disobedient! Do you hear your Masters voice?
Or as Saint Mark the Ascetic explains this: “Whoever does not want to know the will of God is mentally walking a path next to a cliff, and easily falls with any wind. If he is praised, he is proud. If he is rebuked he is angry. If he eats pleasant food, he is drawn into bodily passions. When he suffers he weeps. When he knows something, he wants to show that he knows. When he doesn’t understand, he pretends to understand. When he is rich he puts on airs. When he is poor, he is a hypocrite. When he is full, he is bold. When he fasts he is vainglorious. When he is denounced he loves to argue, while he looks on those who forgive him as fools.” (Saint Mark the Ascetic, Homilies, 2.193)
Pick Up Your Feet! We have work to do!
Fr. Gabriel Weller 12-28-2025
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