Paved Stones

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In the afternoon, my girl wanted to ride her bike.  Without shoes.  Sure, I thought, why not.  I shared with her it wasn’t the best idea, but sometimes we have to let our children struggle and see that there are better choices.

Initially, she could ride her bike alright.  But after a while, it was downright uncomfortable to pedal.  Eventually, my little one needed some intervention.  I pushed her to give her momentum to propel forward.  Our neighborhood sidewalks are made out of stones.  Pockets arise where the stones are uneven and rise up and down.  The stones eventually become small impediments to move over these valleys and hills.

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The stones of life are hard.  That’s why we need shoes.

Shoes preserve our asset, our feet.  Feet alone could not handle the bike pedals over the stones without discomfort.  But feet + shoes = job done.

Shoes protect our ability to move towards our intended destination.  Feet alone exposes us to the elements that work against the direction we need to go.  But feet + shoes = journey complete.

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Life without God is hard too.  He preserves our spirit to give us the momentum to overcome the tough stones we come across.  He protects our way when stones hinder and even hurt the progress of our intended goals.  (A most important goal of all:  to become the man or woman of God that God calls us to become.)

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 “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared.” —Ephesians 6:15

We will come upon significant stones in life.  We will face soaring hills and sloping valleys.  We will have hard days that hammer our hearts.  We will battle the enemy of our soul.  No matter the stones the enemy lays before us, the shoes of the Gospel can prepare and propel us beyond our circumstances as we encounter these difficult rocks.  Christ the Ultimate Rock on which we stand.  All other ground is sinking sand and even…….uneven stones.