shoes

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I’m Good At Wrecking Shoes

I came close to wrecking an expensive pair of shoes the other day.

I normally keep my shoes in good shape for a few years, but this pair I almost lost within six months of buying them.

When I was in my teens I remember my mom complaining that I wrecked running shoes (sneakers) in no time. But that was when I was young and foolish.

This week I got a call that there was a flood at our church. And when I was putting on my shoes to leave, I remember Lily saying to me, “You shouldn’t wear those; wear something old.”

But I thought that the call about the flood was an exaggeration so I said, “Don’t worry about it; they’ll be okay.”

Since then Lily has reiterated several times that she told me not to wear those shoes.

Okay, so she was right.

When I got to the church the flood was definitely a flood. In places the water was pooling on top of the carpet, and there was a little lake that spanned a hallway into two other classrooms.

The job was way too much for the one shop vac that we have, so I immediately called our carpet guy to get him on the job – fast.

The thing about flooding is you’re not usually the only one who’s flooded and so we had to wait a few hours for the carpet guy to actually arrive.

I figured I would do some prep for the professionals.

I had a helper who was madly using the shop vac in one hallway. But in the rooms we had all kinds of furniture that needed to get to dryer ground and out of the way for the carpet cleaner.

I decided to be the mover while we waited for water suction reinforcements.

The problem with that was it meant I had to walk through the pools of water in the various rooms to get the furniture out.

By the time I was done, so were my shoes. They were soaked through but looked okay.

When I got home, I told Lil that my shoes were really wet. And that was the first time she said, “I told you not to wear those shoes.”

Well, after letting them dry for two days, I still needed to blow some some warm through them.

When they were finally dry, they also looked ruined. The leather uppers had lost some of their shape, and there were white marks all over them.

That was the second time Lily said, “I told you not to wear them.”

But graciously she also said she would try to do something with them.

That evening she brought me my shoes and said, “Look at how well they turned out.”

I was amazed! They looked basically as good as they did before the dunking. I thanked her for all she did, and she reminded me one more time that I shouldn’t have worn them.

… But I’ll probably end up wearing them for something else I shouldn’t – that’s why, way back in the day, my mom was right when she said I was good at wrecking shoes.

Here’s the thing: It’s great to get another chance, but God has given us more than a second chance. He is so patient that we get multitudinous chances to trust our life to Him. And then He continues to forgive us of our wrongs. Now that’s a second chance!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need a second chance with? Leave your comments below.

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Running Shoes Don’t Last Forever

I guess the life expectancy of my running shoes had reached its limit and then some.

I can’t remember when I bought them, but I do remember buying a pair about 22 years ago. I can’t say for sure that the runners I have now are those, but let’s just say I’ve had this pair for a very, very long time.

There was a time when I would go through a pair of running shoes every year. They were my go-to, every day shoes.

Since then I find I don’t run very much, so they just stay in the closet, collecting dust until I go on my treadmill or rowing machine. … I guess that’s why I’ve been able to keep them so long.

This year though, I decided to play baseball, so out came my trusty running shoes.

I wore them every Monday this spring and summer, but these shoes will never feel my feet inside them again.

Last Monday they simply disintegrated. I don’t know why they chose this past week to break down and I don’t know why they blew up all at once instead of gradually.

When I put them on before ball, they seemed to be in really good shape. I had no thoughts of needing to replace them this year at all.

The only thing I can think of is that the infield was made of red clay and was pretty wet … and we were just taking batting practice.

The pattern was to hit 10 balls, take a break while another guy hit ten, and then hit another 10 balls.

It might have been a combination of things, including extended time in the batter’s box dragging my toe through the wet clay as I swung through the pitch.

For the first 10 balls, I decided to hit right-handed. I noticed that a bunch of clay had gotten up inside the tread on one shoe.

For the next ten, I decided to hit my natural way – left-handed – and this time it was the other shoe that filled up with clay under the tread.

I then took my turn fielding balls.

By the time I finished my next at bat, the soles of my shoes were flapping like the tongue of a big old dog who’d just finished slurping down his dinner meal.

I walked back to my car feeling like I was wearing clown shoes! It was such an odd feeling.

The shoes were done, finished, not even good enough to cut the grass in.

Last night I went out looking for a new pair of running shoes. Cross trainers seem to be the type of shoe best suited to my activities. … $100 later and I’m ready for baseball next week.

Here’s the thing: In life, most of the time, we manage just fine. We even handle struggles with not too much sweat. But every once in a while the wheels fall off, the shoes disintegrate, life blows up in our face. This happens when we are least expecting it, usually when we are not ready for it. If you’re not in the habit of turning to God, you can really find yourself lost, floundering, panicked. Begin a relationship with God today – if you haven’t done so already – because He can put your life back together.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What unexpected thing has blown up in front of you? Leave your comments below.