MY RED SHOES & JESUS

 

For the record, this picture is from the Kohl's website. There is no video of the shoes, or me walking in the shoes, available.

That said, these are my exact shoes! Aren't they pretty!

 

 

Wore my red shoes to church last week. The big, tall ones I got for Christmas from my parents. The ones I saw from a distance and decided they needed to live with me right then and there. I did pretty good. I only had a few side stumbles and no complete wipeouts. I couldn't walk very fast, but steady.
I also found out I have some weak ankles. Whew buddy, my poor calves felt the pain as well.

I was thinking the other day that my red shoes are a whole lot like how people view a walk with Christ Jesus. Some people would look at my red shoes, and think, oh how lovely. How awesome would a gal look in those. I can walk in those. I 'll be tall and fashionable. It'll be easy. Much like the way Christianity is presented sometimes. Your problems will be gone. You'll be set financially. No more health worries. No more addictions. No more anger issues. No more temptations. So, they decide to walk the Christian walk. At first, it's pretty easy. They are confident they can do this. Then, there is a side stumble, which chips at their confidence a little, but they walk on. Maybe a few more side stumbles, and along the way, they realize they were weak in areas they never suspected. Yet, they keep trying to walk it out. Then they fall. Their confidence is shot, they decide they can't do it anymore, and they quit walking. Their spiritual red shoes go in the box and back in the closet.

Other people would look at those shoes and think, oh I could never walk in those. They see Jesus the same way. I could never be that good. I could never live by those rules. I could never stop...whatever. I am too bad. It is too hard. Nope, no way could I do that, and they never even try. Their spiritual red shoes never even leave the store.

I could take my experience last week and decide not to wear those shoes again. I didn't walk perfectly. It wasn't easy. I probably did not look even close to as "together" as I envisioned I would. I am sure people thought Oh that poor, overweight, NEARLY middle-aged woman. She has no business in those shoes. They might have even thrown in a bless her heart. I could let the stumbles that showed my weakness be what dictate my walk in them. I could let what other people thought about me keep me from trying again.

But I won't. While I have weak areas, they will only get stronger with practice. With walking. Around the house. To church. Down my driveway. I need to walk.

I am going to say your walk with Christ is the same. Maybe you started and you stumbled. You found weaknesses you weren't aware of. Maybe you think you can't even put the shoes on. It's okay. Unlike my red shoes, your walk with Christ does not get it's strength from you. It is from Jesus. He makes us able to get up from those falls and keep moving. Jesus is our confidence in our walk, not anything we do or don't do. I have found the more I walk with Him, the more practice I have in being a follower of Christ, the stronger my stride becomes because of His faithfulness.

If you are struggling with your walk, or your decision to even start walking, with Jesus, be encouraged. Get up and take the next step. I am not going to tell you it will always be easy, or easy at all. It has been my experience that dying to one's flesh rarely is. I will tell you this, Jesus is the strength you need.  He walks each step with you. When your weaknesses show up, He is the one who upholds you. When you stumble to left or to the right, He is the one who sets your feet on solid ground and lights your way. When you fall, bloody your knees and hands, He is the One who binds up your wounds.

I would say you can do this, but the truth is, only in Jesus can you and I do this. So, get those spiritual red shoes on and start walking.

You and I can choose to do that.