Sometimes we are called out of our comfort zones.
I recently purchased a new pair of tennis shoes. I always put off this task as long as possible for a couple of reasons. First of all, there’s nothing more comfortable than a pair of running shoes that I have worn long enough to feel like they are custom-made for my feet.
The second reason is that there is no way of knowing that the bright, new, shiny pair of shoes that feel great on my feet in the store, will feel the same way, once I take them out for a walk, with some running thrown in for good measure.
My neighborhood is made up of many hills. The kids always affectionately called it the roller coaster neighborhood when they were growing up.
Due to the topography, a new pair of running shoes has a high likelihood of causing a blister on my feet the first time out. The problem is, there’s no way of knowing until I’m actually wearing them, a mile away from my house.
But, I had waited as long as I could and I was getting some smooth spots on the bottoms of my current shoes. I reluctantly purchased a new pair. The following morning, I laced them up and headed out, hoping for the best.
I did okay for the first mile, but on the way back home, my right heel started to burn. I was getting a blister and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried running more than walking, to get home faster, but it was growing downright painful.
Then I tried something different.
I always pray when I walk. I began to thank God for a laundry list of blessings in my life, the first being that I could afford to buy new shoes. Many people can’t. The second was that I actually had feeling in my feet. Some people don’t. My list went on until I arrived home.
My foot still hurt, but I wasn’t so focused on my pain, when I was giving thanks for so many other things.
I was grumbling a couple of days later, to my daughter, as I was putting band aids on my heel, before my walk, about how I had made a poor decision on my new shoes and how my other ones were just perfect.
She reminded my that when my old shoes were new, that they too, had rubbed a blister on my heel. How had I forgotten?
I learned two valuable lessons from those new shoes. First of all, when we “give thanks in all circumstances,” like the Bible tells us to, the tough times in life become more bearable, not magically fixed, but bearable.
The second is that it’s really easy to stay with what we find comfortable and never venture outside that safety zone. It’s easy to forget that what is now comfortable for us, probably wasn’t always. It’s also easy to want to give up on something new before we give it much of a chance, if it makes us uncomfortable.
But, the greatest experiences in life rarely come to us from sitting on the front porch in our rocking chairs. God rarely calls us to sit around and do nothing for longer than a season.
Walking with Jesus is not always comfortable, but always worth it. Sometimes we need to apply a few band aids, but we always need to keep moving forward. Getting more comfortable requires times and perseverance.
Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂