Shoelaces.

She’s a tall, blonde and beautiful Finnish woman.

As she stands at the front of our meeting, she’s struggling to keep back tears. It’s not even that she’s describing something about herself. She’s telling us about an encounter she had that day with a homeless man.

She was out with a group of other YWAMMers making pancakes and chai tea for people at South Bank. It’s picturesque, parkland along the Brisbane River. A hot spot for tourists, and locals alike. And as it turns out, the homeless too.

She describes how she felt compelled to go talk to one particular man. During their conversation it came out that one of the biggest wishes for the man at the moment was a pair of shoelaces.

That’s it. He wanted shoelaces so that his over-sized shoes would actually stay on his feet.

“You can have mine.” The young, Finnish woman caught herself offering to the man.

She bent down. Took out her own shoelaces, then began lacing up the man’s shoes. This is where the choked-back tears started in her story.

“I’ve wanted to know what it was like for Jesus to wash His disciples feet; for Him to bend down. In this moment, I felt it.”