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My tripping shoes

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I am not a big shopper; in fact, I tend to wear and use things beyond their reasonable lifespans. That isn’t to say that I dislike getting new things, but I don’t really enjoy the hunt. You will not find me at a Black Friday sale in the wee morning hours. I will be in bed.

2014-09-23 13.01.12 (414x800)My favorite pair of shoes are my Baylor flipflops, but since I can’t wear those to work, I do have a few pairs of flats and a pair of modest navy pumps. I’ve had this pair for several years. They’re one of the few brand-name things that I spent good money to purchase (and even then, they were on sale). I wear them once or twice a week.

I also stumble and/or fall down about once or twice a week.

Correlation?

Since at least a few months before my knee surgery in 2012, and maybe even longer than that, I have not worn heels. These pumps are no more than 1″ high, and most of my shoes are flats. So, perhaps that little bit of height is enough to throw off my balance.

The shoes also have smooth soles, and I have made the mistake a couple of times of wearing them in the rain. Not smart. That’s how I slipped and fell in the grocery store parking lot last month.

Today, I can’t blame the rain, because it’s a beautiful day. I was walking to my car for lunch — on dry, level ground, I might add — when I tripped and started falling forward. I took several Mother-may-I-take-giant-steps forward and actually managed to keep from falling down! There were no witnesses to attest to this miraculous lunge-stepping regaining of my balance, which is just as well, since it was still embarrassing.

They’re my favorite dress shoes, and I don’t want to quit wearing them. Besides, it’s hard to find navy shoes in my size. Perhaps the problem is not the slick soles or the minor heels.

Maybe I’m just clumsy.

Don’t Forget to Wave (Prayer Devotional for the week of September 14, 2014)

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I walk my younger kids to the bus stop each morning, and I stand across the street a couple of houses away – far enough to give them some space but close enough that they know I’m watching in case they get any foolhardy ideas and forget how to behave. I start walking back to the house when the bus approaches their stop, and then I turn and wave as the bus drives past me.

We did this routine every morning for the first several days of school, and then one morning, one of the boys hollered to me as the bus drove up: “Mom! Don’t forget to wave!” Until that moment, I didn’t know if they even noticed that I had been waving to them. It was just something I did without really thinking about it, but it turned out to be something special.

It makes me wonder what else I do in my day-to-day life that seems mundane, “meh,” or just not noteworthy, but the people around me DO notice. The student worker at the front desk to my office notices whether or not I walk in with a smile on my face. The cafeteria worker notices when I say thank you for serving my plate. The person walking behind me notices when I hold the door open to let them into the building.

In Proverbs 18, the author spends the first nine verses talking about selfish people, the fools, the wicked, the guilty, etc. and then verse 10 takes a sharp turn and reminds us: “The Lord’s name is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and find refuge” (CEB). We have a chance everyday to be different from the foolhardy world around us. We can embody that safe place where people find hope.

I don’t want them to notice just some random polite lady, but I want them to notice Christ. I want them to notice that in the moment that our lives intersected, they mattered to me. We have such little time to make an impact in someone’s life. I don’t mean that to sound like a downer, but it’s true. Those people we pass on the sidewalk, the ones we see at work, or in class, or in church – we may not have another opportunity to be Jesus to them. The same is true in our families: One day, I won’t have any kids who still need to be walked to the bus stop. One day, they may not even want me to wave because it’s embarrassing in front of their friends.

I feel heavy-hearted with the weight of today. What have I done that mattered for eternity today? Because we aren’t promised tomorrow.

Klutz

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Today’s Klutz Award goes to Yours Truly for her captivating performance in the grocery store parking lot in the rain.

The bad news is that I landed on my bad knee, and if it could talk, it would be cussing at me right now. I iced it when I got home, so hopefully that will help some. Ibuprofen is my friend right now, as well.

The good news is that a) my slacks were black, & b) I managed to scuff my knee but not tear my pants. I’m not sure how that happened, but I’m grateful.

It was sweet at bedtime when No. 3 was saying prayers, and he asked that my knee would feel better … and that I wouldn’t slip & fall any more. I couldn’t agree more! 🙂 With my [lack of] gracefulness, I may need to buy a pair of cleats before winter.