New Shoes

 "Legacy is NOT what you accomplish.

Legacy is what OTHERS accomplish because of you."

Buying new shoes has been on my list for a long time. The last time I bought shoes was 2012. I loved those pink shoes and wore them until this year when they literally fell apart.

In the midst of waiting to replace my shoes, these hand me down shoes showed up at my house.

The first time I put them on, I immediately said "No. These are not a good fit."

They are higher than my old shoes and hit my heel bone in an odd place. They feel differently on my feet. I was not a fan.

However, I am currently without tennis shoes and these did show up (you know I love FREE things) so I decided I'd wear them for my morning walks until I get around to replacing them.

Each time I walk in them, they feel a little more like "my shoes."

I've gotten used to the different fit and feel have decided these will do until stuff around here quits breaking and falling apart.

At first they felt like I was walking in someone else's shoes.

But now they feel like mine.

As I laced them up yesterday and headed out with Father Mike (on podcast of course) for my walk, I pondered this idea of struggling through the initial discomfort with something new until it becomes comfortable.

Far too often, I think I give on something because it initially doesn't feel natural or like a good fit.

I've often heard that God grows you best OUTSIDE your comfort zone.

In the new shoes.

Because wearing new shoes stretches us to break them in. We have to dig in, do the hard work, and find our footing.

Too often, I think we are either people who just keep wearing the old shoes that no longer serve us in this season, or we continually buy new shoes and never stick with one pair long enough to break them in.

Some of the best things in my life were at one time new shoes.

Teen me swore she'd never be a teacher. No money, little respect and not how I was going to "change the world."

20 something me swore she'd never get married. I'd never do the traditional "white picket fence" life. No interest.

30 something me swore she'd never homeschool her kids. I'd never wear the denim jumper and become some Amish version of myself (denim jumper is still a no but Amish is looking better and better).

40 something me never says never.

She puts on the new shoes when she's called to, often begrudgingly with a few complaints, because she's learned that new shoes are the path to growth. And growth is inevitable.

Mama Warriors as we prepare to enter a new season, with a new school year on the horizon, let's be people looking for new shoes.

Let's step into the roles and places He calls us to with the knowledge that at first it won't feel like our old worn out tennis shoes, but that in time, these new shoes will become ours.

Let's be people who wear the new shoes long enough to break them in before tossing them aside.

New shoes give you the opportunity to leave a legacy.