The Red Shoes

     I was shopping a few weeks ago and stumbled upon a picture. The background was in grey tones with a lady in the center dressed in black.  It was striking, but, truthfully, I did not see the essence of the whole picture because what really caught my eye were the red shoes the lady was wearing. Those red shoes were the only bit of real color on the whole canvas.  My first thoughts were of the slogan, “One shoe can change your life.” 
     The longer I looked at that picture, the more I knew I had to buy it.  Yet, I still didn’t see the impact that picture could make on a simple wall until I saw it hanging.  You see, I still was not seeing
the whole picture. 

 

     This brings me back to real life.  Most of the time we do not see the whole picture, however, there is a God who does.  When adversity strikes, a close friend does us wrong, or any other problem affects our lives all we want to do is say, “Woe is me,” rather than look to the God who is walking beside us and holding our hand through it all. 
     “Why?” we question, never looking at how we are being strengthened through the experience.  Our reactions and responses will certainly get us where God wants us to be either sooner or later.   Sometimes enabling by a loved or our own self-will may prolong the outcome.  Other times, we ignore the direction we need to take never learning from the experience until another one redirects us.    

     2 Corinthians 12:10  “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

     On a more humorous note, I wonder how many times God has painted me on a canvas changing the color and size of my shoes until the right one slips on easily and just fits to a tee, and if I am so blessed as to have stepped into the most comfortable shoes in the world, as a sinful human, I will once again need to be refitted.