lent 2023 day 14

 The right shoes.

You know how I love a good allegory right?   Well, apologies for the preamble on this one but...

Last year I got plantar fasciitis in my right foot.  It came out of nowhere and was really sore.  As I spend a good part of every day jumping up and down with three year olds, barely being able to set my foot on the floor was not great.  I consulted Dr Google and decided that I probably needed to ditch the totally flat pumps I had been wearing every day for the past two or three years.  They were really comfy and easy for being active but I reckoned I needed some arch support.

So it was out with these and on with....

these. Which have a more supportive instep. And they did the job really well
except for the fact that they are fractionally big. This doesnt really make much of a difference when Im doing Jo Jingles classes, but I discovered that if I have to walk any distance they start to rub callouses on the bottom of my feet. Nice eh? So it was back to the shops for a different pair. Which were half a size smaller so sorted the problem when walking any distance, but sadly despite looking pretty similar to the supportive shoes, werent. The fasciitis pain starts to come back if I wear them for any length of time. Bother!  

So, to the point of the story. Yesterday was my day off and I decided to go for a properly long walk.  The first walk Ive done since lockdown really.  I knew Id be out for a while so I put on pair number 3, forgetting that while they are comfy for a short while my feet start to ache in them after not too long.  I'd got a few hundred yards down the road when I remembered and went back home to change shoes.  Cant wear flat pumps, cant wear raised insoles cos they are too big, cant wear right size but no raised insoles........   so guess what I ended up going on a two hour walk in?

These are not walking shoes. 😀  But they do the job just fine.

Half way round my walk ( more of which tomorrow) I was thinking about the importance of wearing the right shoes - and the fact that the right ones might not look like the right ones, or might not be the ones everyone else is wearing.  Our walk with Jesus probably wont require the same shoes for our whole lives.  If we are running with Him we might need different footwear than when we are wading through the mud, or climbing a mountain or dancing.  The tools that helped us yesterday or last year might not feel so comfortable today or next month.  

 In the Bible shoes are often symbolic of covenant.  When a deal was done between businessmen a shoe would be taken off and offered as a sign that a binding promise had been made. ( Ruth 4:8)   They represented the provision of God during the 40 years in the wilderness as the Israelites shoes didnt wear out for that whole time.  ( Deut 29:5)  Ephesians 6:15 uses a picture of shoes to talk about our readiness to spread the gospel of peace and in Luke 15 shoes are part of the welcome home package the father gives to the Prodigal son.  ( in giving his son shoes, the father is returning to him the ability to make and seal his own business deals and contracts in the future - a symbol not only of provision but of restored trust )

As we walk with Him God will give us the right shoes for the day.  He has made His covenant promise with us through Jesus to always supply our needs. He equips us and send us to share His truth with the world and to bring peace wherever we go.   He welcomes us back and dresses us as royalty when we stray and sin and return in repentance.  He shows us that He trusts us with our inheritance.

Our response is to take off our shoes when we come into His presence as recognition that we stand on holy ground. 

Today I am thankful for shoes - both spiritual and physical.