We all have them, we all wear them in one form or another. Some of us get by on just two pairs (one for work, one for not work), while others buy shoes by the hundreds!
But have really given any thought as the the service that the rubber beneath out feet provide?
A shoe's personality, if a shoe had one, would be that of pure selflessness. Even to a self endangering degree. A pair of shoes wakes up in the morning, peeks its way out of the closet, hoping that today, just maybe, she will choose an outfit that goes with it. Today happens to be that day and the shoe and its mate are pulled out of the closet and strapped onto the feet of its owner. Elated, the shoe immediately gets to work protecting the vulnerable feet from anything the ground can throw at it.
Our shoes literally take bullets for us everyday. defending us from sharp rocks, glass, crusty skinned toes, burning hot ground, etc. Our shoes literally wear themselves out in service to us, and come back the next morning begging for more.
There's a Gospel lesson in here somewhere.... I know it....
We should take the example of our shoes. We can live the kind of lives that give selfless and continuous service to others. Even if it makes our day a little less comfortable to do so. All it takes is a desire to serve and the desire to see others the way God sees them.
Next time you see a homeless person begging at a Red Light, think about them. Think about that man as a son of our Heavenly Father, heir to his throne just as much as you. Instead of thinking, "I don't want to help, he'll just shoot the money up his arm or into a shot glass" think, "I need to serve my fellow man. Here is a chance to do so, unequivocally, without hope of recompense or care of the consequence."
Give till it hurts. Then give more. Give and serve until you can see the world the way God sees it, and the way your shoes see it. Then maybe, just maybe, we can begin to understand what Spencer W. Kimball said late in his life:
"My life is like my shoes. To be worn out in service."
