My By Faith Shoes

I was in church the other Sunday and I was wearing a pair of stilettos that are near and dear to my heart. No, I’m not being materialistic here. There is a story behind these shoes. I felt as if I needed to share this story with you all. After my stroke, it was a long hard road in fighting to get back the things that were taken from me. My stroke had caused paralysis down my entire left hand side of my body. It effected my ability to walk, talk, it impaired my vision, it effected my ability to process information and retrieve information in my working memory. Now that you see all the areas that my stroke affected you can better understand why I might get emotional over a pair of stilettos. The sheer amount of mental effort it took just to get myself from my bed and across the hall to the bathroom was inconceivable. I never realized just how much work my brain did in any given second of the day! I have since acquired a newfound appreciation for the the workings of this complicated organ.

As time went on, I slowly began to regain capabilities that were once so difficult. This include walking, but before I had gained proficiency with my balance, my husband and I went out on a date. We ended up at the mall. And being the wonderful man that he is, he took me into a shoe store. He knows oh so well that I suffer from a slight shoe fetish, so he will indulge me from time to time. I am not one of these people who need to own tons of shoes, but I do enjoy perusing the new inventory and seeing what catches my eye. This particular day a colorful pair of stilettos practically jumped off the shelf. I ended up trying them on, but it was not a pretty sight when I decided I wanted to walk to the mirror to see what they looked like on my feet. My husband held my arm as I very slowly and with gumby legs made my way to the mirror. Now, for a woman with a shoe fetish, I fell completely in love with these shoes, but the sheer fact that I could not walk in them made me talk myself right out of the thought entirely.  

My husband proceeded to tell me he thought they looked good on me and that I should get them. I must have looked at him with the most depressed look known to man as I proceeded to tell him that I can’t even walk in them much less think about taking them home. The wisdom of God must have been on the man’s lips that day because what he said brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. He said “Honey, we are going to buy these shoes that by faith you will walk in them one day!” So with that, the shoes journed home with me. It was months and months before I was able to wear them out. I would frequently pull them out of the closet and try them on just to see how my progress was measuring up. Now, today every time I put on these stilettos I am reminded just how faithful my God has been to me. These shoes have been labeled my “By Faith Shoes” because we purchased them at a time I could not walk in them, but by faith my God was going to bring me to a place of deliverance! And that is exactly what he has done!

Truly this story is not just about a pair of shoes. It is about placing my faith in my God who is well able to do what he has planed to do. The Lord is faithful and He always will be. Nothing is ever going to change that fact. But what happens sometimes is that we forget just how faithful he can be, especially in the midst of our hardships and trials. I am thankful that I have a little reminder that I can slip on from time to time to keep me from forgetting just how faithful my God truly is.

Throughout various parts of the Old Testament, the Israelites built altars of remembrance. These altars were reminders of what God had done in those particular places. They were often built  in remembrance of a miracle, a dramatic rescue, or to mark a lesson they had learned. They were meant to be reminders to future generations of God’s faithfulness and to give them strength to face their current trials.

For me, my “altar of remembrance” are these particular pair of stilettos. Not because I worship them, but because they serve as a reminder of the faithfulness of God in my life. What is your altar of remembrance? My prayer is that you may find something that triggers in you a deep reminder of the faithfulness of God. Something that will help keep you grounded in the hard times. Something that every time you look at that particular thing you say: “Look what the Lord has done!” May the Lord help you to find your own pair of “by faith shoes.”