“You don’t know until you’ve walked in my shoes what it’s like to be me.” Have you other said that to someone? Heard someone say that to you? At least thought it to be true? I know that I have.
Let’s challenge that thought process today, with the goal to grow. We ALL want others to “walk in our shoes” (for those that don’t understand this phrase, it means that we want others to understand what we are going through). BUT… HOW ARE OTHERS SUPPOSED TO WALK IN OUR SHOES IF WE REFUSE TO TAKE OURS OFF? If we aren’t willing to take our shoes off and wash them once in awhile, will we even know that we had outgrown them and they were pinching our feet, that they are layered in filth, they are letting rocks in through unrepaired holes, or that they’re the wrong kind of shoes for the lifestyle that we lead?
If our shoes represent our identity, then what do they look like to others? Would others feel excited to step into them? Would stepping into them make them feel peace? Or would it make them feel chaos and confusion? Would they notice right away that they were in disrepair?
By now you probably noticed that this isn’t really a post about shoes, but rather one of understanding where our identity comes from. After 50 years of searching and trying on new “shoes” throughout my life, I have found only ONE pair that always fit comfortably because they were made just for me, stay clean all on their own as long as I go back regularly to the place where I got them in the first place, come with their own shoemaker for repairs, and are ideal for every terrain that I am called to traverse. They are waterproof, resilient, so lightweight that I can run like the wind, and have a steel-toe and puncture-proof soles for protection of my sensitive feet below.
So, let’s have a conversation…. if your shoes are your identity, what do they look like? Where did you get them? And would others truly want a pair of their own that are like yours? To further challenge you, think about finding the perfect pair of “shoes” like I have and then ponder why those of us that have truly found them are so willing to let others walk around in them until they get their own pair.
(Image by schroederhund from Pixabay, Message by Steph from identityfromjesus.com)