Putting on My Spirit Shoes

I had jumped to hit the ball over the net many times that day but somehow this time I landed wrong.  We all heard the pop.  My foot was broken.  I wore a boot cast for 6 weeks which seemed more like 12 weeks.  At the end of the 6 weeks, x-rays showed my foot was healing well and I could go without the cast.  The only problem was I had to relearn how to walk.  My ligaments and tendons didn’t want to do all the great things they did before.  It was not like I expected them to help me run or jump.  All I wanted to do was be able to walk normally.  My physical therapist told me that if I wore my athletic shoes even in the house, they would give me the support I needed to walk and help train my foot to work properly again.  I found out she was right.  With shoes, most would never realize something was wrong. Of course, they might wonder why I was wearing shoes inside which is not done where I live.  Without shoes,  I needed crutches or would walk awkwardly to where I needed to go.  I liked to call my Nikes, my magic shoes.  With them, I could walk normally.  Without them, even now, I will sometimes still hobble.   With them, I could accomplish what I needed to do.  Without them, life was a bit more difficult.

In life, I wish it was that easy.  I would hop out of bed, slip on my Spirit shoes, and be ready for what ever the world throws my way. Now here is where I might contradict myself.  Maybe it is easier than we think.  Maybe we don’t realize how much easier it is to walk with the Spirit than without.  Think of all the messes we could avoid.   Think of all the regrets we wouldn’t have.   There will be days we put on our Spirit shoes.  We had time with God and we are ready to go.  Then life happens.  We stumble.  We say words we regret.  We do things we wish we hadn’t. Yes, we may stumble. Yes, we may want to go our own way and take off our shoes.  Yes, we may have to stop and retie our shoes and regroup.   In the end though, even with all our mistakes and failings, isn’t life better with our Spirit shoes on than off.

So today I put on my Spirit shoes and take those first steps.  Tomorrow I get up and do it again.  It is a daily thing.  A habit that is really a relationship.  A habit, a relationship that I hope will last a lifetime.