Time for New Shoes
Hey you!! Rise and Shine! Shine bright girl!!! YOU have something that the world needs to see.
So, over the weekend, I had a lot of thoughts, and some things that were on my heart to share.
But first let me ask you….
After having your first baby, were you able to fit into your old shoes?
Chillleee..
I couldn’t. And I was crushed. Some of my cutest shoes no longer fit me. My most comfortable shoes were no longer comfortable.
I did not want to get rid of those shoes, because I had them for so long. They were familiar. I liked them. Although they no longer fit and were not comfortable anymore, I wanted to keep them... In hopes that they would fit again. Trying to make them work.
It was time to let them go.
I had grown out of them. It was time for new shoes.
And that’s ok.
And so it is with seasons in our lives.
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.." ( Ecclesiastes 3:1-11).
In this passage of Ecclesiastes, the bible explains that there will be the beginnings and endings of seasons in your life. Some will be joyous, some will be not so pleasant.
Yet, they all have purpose.
All seasons and situations have an expiration date. Sometimes shoes just don't fit anymore. It's ok to get a new pair.
Change can be very hard and very necessary at the same time.
You could have a great job and then, all of the sudden, God is calling you to do something totally different...like be a stay at home mom. Your finances during the time could have been great, and this will cause a drastic change in your financial situation, but the call of God is always greater.
You can be in a relationship that once brought you so much joy, but you now realize that he just isn't the one.
You could have lead a women's prayer group that you loved leading, and it's now time for you to lead a bible study.
All seasons have purpose, and are good for that particular time. But there comes a time to get a new pair of shoes.
I went to the BEST HBCU of ALL time...Claflin University. I cannot say enough about this small university (then college) in Orangeburg, SC and the effect that it had on my life.
I met lifelong friends there. We are still cultivating lifelong relationships.
I grew up there...I found out who Sharon really was.
But after 4 years of being there, as painful it was to leave, as much joy and growth and purpose that this season of life gave me, it was time for it to end. It was time to get a new pair of shoes.
What would happen if I tried to make that same pair of shoes work for me? I could not be a perpetual college student in all of its glory and be a functioning adult at the same time.
God takes us through seasons to shape us, to build character and integrity.
God takes us through seasons to mature us and to gain wisdom.
God takes us through seasons to learn boundaries, and to build endurance and patience.
Most of all, to help us to realize that, no matter WHAT season we are in, He is there, and we can trust Him through it.
God TAKES us through seasons. He carries us and give us grace to get through it.
And, each season has purpose..the lessons learned from this season will help you in the next season.
"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. People cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end."
We may not understand. It may not look right. People around us may not understand it. It may look crazy to them.
Since we cannot see the whole story from beginning to end..it will behoove us to trust in the one who does.
Don't try to keep old shoes because of familiarity, girl.
Time for new shoes. Embrace it and trust God through it.
Walk into your next season.
Besides, didn't a new pair of shoes change Cinderella's life?
