Psalm 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (KJV)
Have you ever stopped and paid attention to someone’s shoes??? Looked at them and either admired the brand, the heel height, the color, or better yet let’s say maybe judging the condition? I know I have! Most of the time it is admiring the ones that are 6-inch red bottom stilettos that are sparkling with premium patent Italian leather. They are beautiful but ohhhhh the pain that my feet feel just by looking at them. Maybe you are not admiring the stiletto, maybe you are checking out those perfectly white freshly boxed Nike or Adidas running shoes that just got released and you know you just have to have a pair! These scenarios paint a pretty picture but I want to go deeper. Although admiring shoes is fun, have you ever really paid attention to the shoes closer and wondered what type of journey the person that is wearing them may be on? This weekend I had an opportunity to serve our Fivestones youth group with the best youth pastors on the planet at Wild Ones 2021 youth conference in Chattanooga, TN. For many this was going to simply be an amazing conference to attend and hear some awesome preachers/worship leaders but for me it was not only that but a journey back to a place where I had experienced several different emotions/times over the years. Some of those were happy, some were very difficult. I wasn’t really sure what to expect walking back in the doors 7 years later but before I went, I prayed and ask God to be with me and give me peace because truthfully there was some parts of me that was a little nervous and anxiety was rearing its ugly head even on the car ride there. Why? Because not many know that in 2014 when Brian and I first got together this was where our journey started. We met in the midst of a 90-day revival called Times of Refreshing. Brian was walking through some very difficult and challenging times and there was those who did not know if I was doing the right thing by walking beside him and chose not to be very supportive of me. I had gone through a very public breakup 2 years prior where we both attended this church and there were some who were torn between who to support and eventually turned their back on me. In 2016, God moved me from the church and all I knew and loved to Marietta GA without even truly being able to give the proper goodbye to those I was closest to it all happened within a 3-day time span. As I entered the doors I was absolutely overwhelmed at the outpouring of love and reception not only I but Brian and Carston received. Those who ran up and jumped on me as we embraced, those who gave me the biggest hugs I haven’t felt in years, those who giggled with me like we never missed a beat, you made my journey back home so worth it all but God didn’t stop there, He began to do so much more. During the course of the next 2 days, I watched as 1000’s of young people journeyed from all around gather to worship and grow in the ways of God. Some had tennis shoes on, some had cowboy boots on, some had on high-top knee-high socks, some had no socks on at all, but they all were there for one purpose, Worship God! Although young, I looked around I wondered what journey they have been on that brings them here. How many of them came from a broken home? How many of them were struggling to find their identity in the midst of a culture that tries to dictate to them who they are? How many of them struggle with addictions of all types and nowhere to turn? How many of them thought of ending their precious life before they walked through the door of the conference because the peer pressure was just too much? How many of them were possibly on their way to a juvenile detention center if God doesn’t intervene? If I looked at their shoes and judged by their condition, I would have been able to figure it out, OR would I???? Possibly not. I know people right now who have 15+ pairs of shoes/boots that if you looked at them you would never know that their journey was filled with drug addiction and time spent in prison. I know people right now who own 10 pairs of shoes that if you looked at them and the one pair they wear daily which is dingy, dirty, soles worn out and shoe strings a mess you would possibly judge them as broke and not able to afford to replace them but what you don’t know is that those very shoes are ones that have made multiple trips to a Children’s hospital nearby and multiple therapies to make sure that their special needs child gets the best care possible and has been their go to for comfort. The mom wearing them what you also may not know had to leave a career/income of 5 years to be able to provide that required continued care. She chose love and sacrifice over material things. Last but not least, how about that young lady that you see coming out of the local Walmart/grocery store who is wearing some worn-out flats/flip flops/even out of style comfort shoes while toting a toddler on her hip and you immediately judge her as not caring about herself at all! Mistake, what you might have just missed is a single parent mommy who is doing everything she can to survive and take care of her little one because someone decided to walk out on her and left her to do it all by herself. Last, let’s go back to that 6-inch red bottom premium patent leather stiletto that I talked about in the beginning. Maybe you look at that scenario and say they must be super rich fancy to be able to afford those shoes their journey must not be bad at all. But what you don’t know is that same person you are judging by their shoes is someone who at some point in their life was so broke that they were living in a one-bedroom apartment, with a Charlie Brown style Christmas tree, feeding their first born on wic and food stamps because they didn’t even know where the money was going to come from. This happening to the point where others would bring cases of formula and sit it on their doorstep at random times. They had a journey all right but now they are reaping the blessings of God in their lives because they sacrificed a lot for the Kingdom. So, no you can’t always tell someone’s story by the shoes that they wear but I can promise you one thing, the shoes will speak louder than words, they will always say Yes, I am on a journey but God is walking it with me and I am still here. You may not understand it, you may not trust it, but He is as the scripture says a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and where He chooses to lead me, I will go. As he showed me this weekend, sometimes He will take you on a journey, take you back where it started, to remind you of just how far you have come and how much more is to come. Have a blessed day friends and make the journey count today!
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AuthorMy Name is Laura Perdue. I am 44 years old and married to my best friend, Brian Perdue and mommy to Carston Perdue. Brian and I reside in Woodstock Ga and serve on the action team of Fivestones Church in Holly Springs. Archives
July 2022
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