Those Shoes of 2008

As 2008 came so quickly and is now a thing of the past, I take time to reflect. I stopped making resolutions a long time ago......never stuck to them. Reflection rather than resolution sounded like a better alternative. Yes, the shoes in my closet have changed. I have worn some new ones this year. Not all of them were comfortable, but what changes the way we look often is not comfortable. Those high heels and pointed toes never promised to do anything for your feet except make you look slimmer....yeah, right! There is only one thing that makes you look slimmer and that is to become slimmer. I gave up on that a long time ago too. The shoes that I would rather wear are those ever so comfortable flipflops, that is, after you form a callous between the toes. They give your feet room to breathe, wiggle, and show off that pedicure.

Well, back to reflection....2008 was the year that I my age became the year of my birth. Let me explain....if you were born in 1980, then when you are 80, your age is the same as the year of your birth. Try to figure yours out. It might be confusing, but I don't know, it was kind of interesting for me and seemed to mark a place in my life just as 2008 did.

Oh, those traveling shoes! I used my passport for the first time in 2008. I had been out of the country...Mexico....not hard to do when you live just hours from the border, but in all of my years I had never really left the good ole US of A. This was monumental for me! My passport finally has the stamp of Canada. In May, I joined my husband, who was there for business, for a long weekend. I have always lived where there is as much daylight as there is darkness or so it seems. As I arrived in Canada, it was late in the evening, but the sun was still up. My body had some adjustments to make and I never realized that I actually felt hungry according to the sun rather than to time or my stomach. We spent the entire weekend driving through the Canadian Rockies. It was breath taking to say the least. I saw animals that I had never seen before at least not without bars between us. There was a thrill around every corner or should I say curve. Definitely wore some comfortable shoes on that trip. Not much to look at, but tennis shoes were what I needed for traipsing through the Canadian Rockies.

That was not the last time fast traveling shoes were needed in 2008. In July, we made a trip to Seattle to help some friends that are planting a church in the area. We assisted with a sports camp that they hold every summer to get accainted with the community. We met so many wonderful people and certainly enjoyed the opportunity to serve our God. Before we left Seattle to return home, we made a trip to the top, well, it felt like the top, of Mt. Ranier. Gorgeous shoes! There were times on the drive up, that I was ready to turn around. SCARY shoes! The passenger seat is right next to the edge of the road and the edge of the road is right next to the edge of the mountain. The drive up was not so pleasant, but well worth it! In the middle of July, there was snow! I am not used to seeing snow even in the winter much less the middle of July when the average temp for my neck of the woods is 100.

So much for the comfortable shoes. I didn't get to wear them all year. There were some uncomfortable shoes to be worn. The shoes of grief. 2008 was the year that I would say I love you for the last time to my dad. Daddy was 89 in March of 2008 and had lived a long, wonderful life. He had been living in a nursing facility just shy of 4 years. I feel so blessed to have had those 4 years. I saw Daddy at least 2 times every week. We shared some very happy visits. It gave me a chance to ask questions about his life and family. If he had not been ill, I might not have taken that opportunity or even thought about it until it was too late. The shoes of grief are hard to wear, but......I have found such great rejoicing in those shoes. I guess I could call them dancing shoes. I know that I know that I know that Daddy is facing Jesus today. He had looked forward to his homegoing for a long time. He was ready without a doubt. What made my Daddy happy was seeing me happy and now I can truly say that I am happy because I know Daddy is whole, happy, and rejoicing in Heaven. I will tell you another time more about these shoes, although not so comfortable, comfort can be found in them.

Oh, there are so many more shoes in my closet. The ones worn by a newborn baby's mom, a sports mom, a room mom, a brokenhearted mom, a mom of the brokenhearted, an ICU mom, a mother of the bride, a grand....mom otherwise known a Mimi, and the list goes on. I have worn them all and I want to tell you about those shoes...all of them as an encouragement to you that the shoes come off and there is rest!

If the shoe fits, wear it well!