My Beautiful Shoes!

Everyone knows I love shoes. Sometimes I dream of shoes. Shoe sales are my kind of sales.

Photo by Amardeep Kumar

My shoes make a statement about me. They are a great accessory not just a necessity. I have shoes that speak of my mood, shoes to match my outfits, shoes that define the occasion.

Shoes for church, shoes for walking, shoes for shopping, casual shoes, dress shoes, embellished shoes for the special occasions like my children’s weddings. Flat shoes, kitten heel shoes, even the occasional block heel shoe. closed shoes, peep toe shoes, exercising shoes, pumps, sneakers (different kinds and colors to match different sweat suits).

I love, love, love sandals, embellished sandals, stiletto heels, shoes painted red on the bottom side (I don’t have these yet, but I hope to get a pair when I can afford them- I think they would make me look like a woman of mystery). I even have glamorous heels that change color as I walk, and look different from different angles. These were a great find.

Next on my shopping list is is a pair of slides that have a red ball for a heel. I saw these on Amazon.

The list goes on and on. When I go to the department store some shoes just call out to me. How can I leave them behind?! When my daughter shops with me she tells me repeatedly, “Put them down, mom, put them down. You don’t need more.” My sister does the same! So frustrating! It is easier to shop with my son, who simply says, “Well, if you want . . . get them.” My husband doesn’t mind either!

I have even had dreams of shoes. In my dreams I am having difficulty deciding which pair of shoes to wear. Sigh! God gave us only one pair of legs so we can only wear one pair at a time, so I am happier on days when I can change shoes more than once. Flip-flops until after breakfast, flat shoes for lunch, then shopping shoes to do errands, and finally heels to a restaurant for dinner . . . my kind of day!

I assure you it is all very Biblical:

Isaiah 52:  7 How lovely on the mountains
            Are the feet of him who brings good news,
            Who announces peace
            And brings good news of happiness,
            Who announces salvation,
            And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Feet, yes, and these feet have to wear shoes, so why not have them be attractive as well?!

Eph. 6: 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Even my spiritual armor shoes are pretty as they are effective (in my mind)!

Isaiah 3: 16 The LORD adds, “The women of Zion are arrogant. They walk with their noses in the air, making seductive glances, taking short little steps, jingling the ankle bracelets on their feet.”

I have anklets from India, silver anklets with little bells in them. My mother taught me to walk like a lady and take ladylike short steps. I love to wear my anklets, they announce me in a room as I walk, but I am not arrogant, and I have never acted seductively . . . right, Lord? right??

They know me as the shoe lady at church. They know me coming and going by my shoes.

Here is the topper: don’t tell anyone, but I also love to go barefoot. No shoes are as comfortable as no-shoes!! Especially when I am meeting with the Lord on holy ground:

Exodus 3: 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not near here: put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place where on you stand is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look on God.

Whether behind a desk or podium when I am teaching, where ever I am teaching, even a bible study in my home, I take off my shoes for I think of that place as holy ground where I have invited my Lord to be. I want His presence, and in His presence, I see no place for my shoes.

In the scripture from Isaiah 52 above, the prophet announces that the feet that bring the good news of the gospel are beautiful. They may be worn out and dirty, calloused and ugly, but they are lovely. These feet may be old or young, fat or skinny, women’s feet or men’s, but they are fabulous feet. In the dry arid land of Israel feet that traveled in sandals invariably got dusty, dry and tired. Growing up in India we dealt with the same. washing feet was less about not bringing dirt inside, and much more about feeling clean and refreshed. This is made clear in the passage below. the Lord appeared to Abraham in this passage:

Genesis 18:1 And the LORD appeared to him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, see, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My LORD, if now I have found favor in your sight, pass not away, I pray you, from your servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

The point is, it is not about the shoes, it is about the feet. It is also not about the feet, but about the message the owner of the feet is carrying. The message is what decides the beauty of the messenger. Hence Isaiah says the feet of one bringing the message of the Gospel are beautiful.

I speak of my shoes but if the message I carry is a useless one, my feet even in the lovely shoes I wear are really quite ugly. If my tongue speaks lies, gossip and folly, my feet are ugly. If I speak ill of my fellow man, if I curse and swear and rail and rant in anger, my feet are ugly. If the message I bring to you is not the truth of the gospel, my feet are ugly.

One more thing, if I do not walk with my shield of faith, and do not speak the message of salvation, nor live a life of righteousness, if His Word is not my sword, (Ephesians 6:10-17) my feet are ugly. I cannot leave the whole armor off and be walking in simply the shoes that carry the message of the “preparation of the gospel of peace.”

To announce salvation, I must know salvation, and be prepared to give an account for it and to defend my stance. The feet of a soldier know how to take a firm stand, I must stand firmly in my preparation, without being moved.

I love my shoes, but even in my heels, I must be prepared to give an account and defend my faith, in truth and with knowledge. Otherwise, I must resign my position as a soldier, as an ambassador of Christ, and let someone else who can do the job better, replace me.

My heels can still be useful. they would make lovely planters, don’t you think?!!