Out With the Old, In With the New!

I had this pair of shoes, they were my favorite pair of fall/winter shoes. They were my “old faithfuls”. You girls know, the ones you grab to wear that will go with pants or jeans and you can throw them on when you want to be comfortable and still look decent. I had actually bought those faithful companions over 10 years before in Florida where our family resided for a while. They were a bargain at the Tommy Hilfiger outlet. I won’t buy something unless it is a bargain and I definitely won’t buy Tommy Hilfiger unless it is a REAL bargain! Lol! Yes, I’m cheap like that, well, I prefer “thrifty” instead of cheap but anyway…I digress. 🙄

Well, I knew the fall/winter before that those faithful companions were nearing their death when they were getting faded and were showing signs of old age. But nonetheless, I put them on that year, spiffing them up a little, hoping to keep them alive. As I walked out of my office one particular day in the pouring rain, I noticed my socks became wet.

☔️
What??? Not good! I didn’t see any visible holes but when I got home and took them off, the bottom of them had actually split all the way through the thick sole of the shoe. Yes, you guessed it. It was time. It was time after more than 10 faithful years. Those shoes had come to their demise. They were beyond repair and in need of replacing. It was a sad day! Lol! My husband, great man that he is, comforted me over the phone, 

“Honey, I think you got your money’s worth so please go get a new pair.” 

😬

He understood my pain of buying comfortable, reliable, yet still fashionable shoes…that could get pricey.

💰

So, the task before me was to go on a quest of finding a new faithful companion that would comfort my feet but still provide fashion and on a meager budget. Yes, my work was cut out for me but I was ready for the task. Haha! I eventually found a new pair but it took some breaking in.

I thought about the shoe fiasco the other day. No, I'm not still distraught about my shoes (I have moved on), but how life is a lot like those shoes. We find ourselves comfortable going about our life. Everything seems to fit and it is just the way we like it. But then our comfortable starts to show wear and small cracks give way to larger ones and cause discomfort and wet soles. It is in those times where God calls us out of our “comfort zones” and to take giant steps of faith that He has something else for us. When it goes beyond repair and in to something new. That can be exciting but can also be scary. No one likes to leave their comfort zone even if that "comfort" has become a little uncomfortable. It is familiar and change is hard. But with God leading the way, we have to place all faith and trust that He knows what is better. He will never call us away from something without replacing it with what is better for us…in that season…for HIS work.🙏🏼

So, if you’re facing the move from your comfort zone and following God in His leading, rest assured that He has already gone before you paving the way. Yes, there will be growing pains and times of “breaking in the new shoes” but where HE guides, HE provides and where HE calls you, HE will equip you with everything you need to do HIS work. 

Let’s never get so comfortable that we miss the leading of HIS will. May we walk uprightly and confidently in those new shoes and on our new path. Sure, rainy days may come but with new shoes fitted and designed by the Master Cobbler, we will stay dry and be ready to face the puddles. ☔️

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭16:11‬

“He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23:3‬

“In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:6‬

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31:25‬