buy it!!!  own it!!!  if the shoe fits  . . .  wear it,  walk down the aisle in it and live happily ever after with your prince charming.  After all, isn’t that what Cinderella did when the glass slipper fit her foot?     but   . . .

what if the shoe that fits your bare foot isn’t the glass slipper that slipped so easily onto Cinderella’s foot?  What if it’s a work boot?  What if it isn’t a designer creation?  What if it’s a sensible shoe?  What if it’s corrective shoes?  What if the shoe that fits your foot is out of date and out of fashion?  What if the shoe that fits costs more than your mortgage payment?  What then . . . ?

shoes can help us step into our true identity, just as Cinderella stepped into her role as princess when she slipped those glass slippers onto her feet and stepped into a whole new life.

And let’s not forget Dorothy and those ruby slippers she wore so well.  They made her a target but they also brought her safely home.  Glamorous, glitzy, dazzling ruby slippers turned out to be the “shoes that fit” in Dorothy’s case, and the shoes that she needed in order to walk the yellow brick road successfully.  Those were some special shoes, for a special purpose.

I fear I am still looking for that perfect shoe.  The shoe that will fit me perfectly, be glamorous and comfortable (aren’t those two mutually exclusive, forcing us to choose every time?)  The shoe that will go with every outfit I own.  A shoe to wear as I walk through this world on the many paths I must pass over, paths I unexpectedly find myself on; much like Dorothy found herself walking a very different path than she had ever planned on walking.

Cinderella and Dorothy had their perfect shoes with their perfect fits.  But Cinderella had a fairy godmother and Dorothy had Glinda, the magical good witch.  What do I have?  What would my ideal shoes be anyway?  Maybe the perfect pair of hiking boots that never wear out and never rub blisters.  (because they fit perfectly of course)  Actually, for me, maybe no shoes at all is the perfect fit – barefoot on the beach would be my preferred way to walk through life.

The saying goes, “you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”  Well, I think that is also true for shoe shopping.  You have to try on a whole lotta shoes before you find the shoe that fits,  the shoe that fits – You.

We often hear the advice, “walk a mile in my shoes”.  While this can help us to understand someone else and what life is like for them, we are likely to come away with blisters from walking in someone else’s shoes because – the shoe doesn’t fit.

Another expression I often hear is “those are big shoes to fill”.  I find walking in shoes that are too big for me hard to do and dangerous too.   It is hard to keep the shoes on my feet.  My feet often slip out of the too big shoes.  I stumble and fall a lot when the shoes are too big.

Conversely, when my shoes are too small they are confining, even crippling to my feet.  Walking is uncomfortable, then becomes painful followed by impossible as blisters develop.

I guess I need to find the shoe that’s right for me.  Trying to fill someone else’s shoes or trying to cram my foot into someone else’s glass slipper will only result in pain and loss of purpose.  My purpose.  I won’t be able to walk on my own.  I won’t be able to walk into my purpose or to walk with purpose, until I find the shoe that fits – the shoe that fits me.

Now I may not have a fairy godmother but I have something better.  I have a Savior, Redeemer, Creator, Sustainer,  who will provide me the appropriate footwear with the perfect fit because He has things for me to do and He will equip me in order to enable me to do those things.  Kind of like when Cinderella’s fairy godmother totally equipped Cinderella to attend the ball and meet the prince.  I mean, she thought of and provided everything – from the ball gown and slippers to a tiara and transportation totally worthy of the event.

It says in Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ ”   The feet of those who bring good news are described as beautiful, I wonder what kind of shoes they were wearing? They were mountain climbing, so perhaps my coveted hiking boots?

When Jesus sent His disciples out to share the gospel with surrounding villages He gave them these instructions, “Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.  Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.”  (Mark 6:8)   So the shoe that fit for the disciples was a sandal.

In Ephesians 6:11-15 I read about getting ready, about being equipped, just like Cinderella for the ball.  Only this isn’t preparation for a ball but for a battle, a spiritual battle that I must fight every day.  My instructions are to “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.    . . . Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

For all this standing firm I am going to need the right footwear with the right fit or I will not be able to stand.  But what is it?  What does it look like?  I read on, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”  

So God Himself will fit my feet, which ensures that the shoes will fit.  He will fit my feet with readiness that comes from His gospel of peace.  Is it ironic that I am to wear shoes of peace as part of God’s armor to protect and defend and to fight against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms?

It would appear that readiness is the new Nike of the footwear world.  Wearing shoes chosen for me and fitted for my feet, for the paths God knows I will be traveling – I am ready to follow wherever God leads.  Ready to help anyone in need.  Ready to share the words of life, which are the gospel, with anyone who will listen.  Ready to meet hurt with kindness, deceit with truth, hate with love.  Ready to meet war with peace, the gospel of peace.

In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus told His disciples,  “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Jesus also said, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  (Ephesians 4:32)

my marching orders, so to speak –  that is – if the shoe fits – if I want to wear the footwear of a follower of Jesus – He will fit my feet with the shoes He knows I will need for my life’s journey –

He knows every hair on my head – He knows my name – He has a pair of shoes with my name on them –  and they will be a perfect fit – enabling me to walk with Him  wherever He leads  . . .

“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.  He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights.”  (Psalm 18:33)

if the shoe fits?   thank You Lord that Your shoe for me does fit, perfectly!

I can stop searching, I never have to shoe shop again!

sincerely,       Grace Day