Angela Grunewald

Make the Most of Your Shelf-Life

Live it with a Purpose

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For the months of June and July our offices work 40 hours Monday through Thursday and closes on Friday to save electricity. For each Friday I have off, I have selected an area of the house to clean/purge. The first week it was our file cabinet. I took three big shopping bags of paper to the shredders. Last Friday I tackled the pantry. I just don’t know how it happens. The oldest date I found was a box of pudding mix from 2008. It was pistachio flavored. I bought it to make a jello salad that never happened. I threw away items that had been in the pantry for several years and just reached their expiration date such as a jar of molasses. I can’t even remember how long I have had it. I use it about twice a year when I make ham and beans. I will have to get a new one now. There were also items such as a package of hot dog buns that had just recently been purchased for a Memorial Day cookout, but were already non-edible. Every item in my pantry was bought for a reason. I had a plan and purpose in mind for every item when I put it in my grocery cart. It is just that some items were used for their purpose and some just sat on the shelf until their time was up.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Like the items in the pantry, God has created each and everyone of us for a purpose. We are to walk in love, light and wisdom (Ephesians 5). We are to live a life that bares the fruit of the Spirit demonstrating love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22 & 23). “Above all, love each other deeply, …. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others” 1 Peter 4:8-9. Actually loving one another is such an important part of our purpose there are over 30 verses telling us to do so.

Back to the pantry. For all of the food I threw out that had not been used for its purpose, we almost daily use something from the pantry for the purpose it was originally purchased. What I wonder is am I living in a way where I can be used to my full purpose or am I just sitting on the shelf taking the path of least resistance?

It is obvious we as humans have a shelf-life just like the box of cereal or the bottle of balsamic vinegar. For reasons I can’t explain or even begin to understand, everyone has a different shelf-life. Some are born with a short shelf-life like Oreo cookies and can complete their purpose in life quickly while others, like a bag of rice, have years to complete their purpose in life. The question is are you making the most of the shelf-life you have been given? Are the fruits of the Spirit evident in your actions? Personally, I have some days that are better than others and some fruits that are more abundant than others. Kindness – for the most part, I am by nature kind to others. However, self-control is a topic for later discussion. It just doesn’t come naturally for me. No matter, I am committed to trying to live my entire shelf-life to the best of my ability as I can only do with God’s help. And with His help, I will not spend my life just taking up space on the pantry shelf.

Plank in the Eye?

A Speck is Painful Enough

In Matthew 7 and Luke 6 the parable is told “and why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” After calling this person a Hypocrite, Jesus instructs us to “First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

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This parable has a whole new meaning for me tonight. I had a left eye experience today that opened my eyes (pun intended). First I had my annual eye doctor appointment. As I was complaining about the frustrating process of taking my glasses on and off for each different event, my doctor suggested one contact or mono-vision to help with my aging sight. I was all in. I moved from the exam room to the table at the back of the office to practice this new contact adventure. Putting the contact in was no problem. This rookie got it in on the first try. I wish I could say the same for the extraction of the contact. It took multiple attempts and by multiple, I mean like 15-20. The assistant was adding drops, double checking that is was still there, and coaching me the entire time. Because I was such a slow learner, she made me do it again with about the same results. I went back to the work with my eye red and swollen and not one bit of make-up on the left side of my face.

This event was nothing compared to the antics it took to get the contact out tonight at home by myself. I worked and worked just like I was instructed at the office. I could not get it out. Then I noticed it didn’t appear that the contact was still in my eye. I picked up my phone and sure enough, I couldn’t read my phone so it had to be out. Oh no, I couldn’t be that lucky. It was folded up and lodged up under my eye lid. You can only imagine the effort it took to get my finger up there to dig the wad of film out. I actually have a small bruise on my check where I have been digging my fingernails into my face trying to hold my eye open.

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I embarrassingly tell you this story because I feel it is comparable to the removal of a speck or plank from the eye in the biblical sense. Obviously, this story is a metaphor concerning judgement of others. In the last part of the parable, we are instructed to remove the plank from our own eye. In other words focus on our own faults not others. I have no idea what it would be like to have a plank in your eye, but I’m here to say, it takes great effort to get something really small out of your eye. Think back to the last time you had hair or fuzz in your eye and couldn’t get it out. If you are like me, you rub and rub, look in the mirror, shine the light from your phone in your eye…. everything you can do to get the uncomfortable object out of your eye.

The question is, do the faults in our lives make us uncomfortable enough that we want them gone? I ask myself, am I as desperate to remove the sin or shortcomings from my life as I was to get the foreign object from my eye? Who can walk around with something in their eye? Not I. However, I daily walk around completely unconcerned about the faults or sin in my life. What would happen if you didn’t remove the object from your eye? Your eye would continue to water, become more irritated with time, eventually end up with scratches and likely infection. Sin does the same thing. It scratches, scars and poisons our lives. The problem is, we let it stay and often even justify its existence as necessary.

I pray tonight that God will show me the changes I need to make in my life by making them as uncomfortable as an object in my eye.

Where is the best place to hide your dirty laundry?

Right now we are going through the miserable experience called selling our house. This means that within a moment’s notice we have to evacuate the house and make sure it is “show ready” as we departure. Since we have been doing this for several months now, we have it down like a well-rehearsed dance routine.

First let me say, there are three levels of clean. There is “we live here” clean. This means there may be a glass or two in the sink, some books on the sofa, a load of clothes on the dryer to be folded and of course the bed isn’t made. Next there is “company” clean. We can go from “live here” clean to “company” clean in about 15 minutes. However the third level of clean is completely different. It is “show ready” clean. This level of clean allows for people to go through your closets and cabinet at free will. For us it also includes a list of crazy steps such as opening hidden spice rack cabinets, putting out notes about instant hot water, washing a load of clothes (so the laundry room smells like laundry) and walking out of the house backwards followed by the vacuum cleaner to make sure there are no footprints in the carpet. This dance also includes the ritual of taking items like the dog crate, the close hamper, the blankets from the sofa and shoving them in the car. These are the items that are a part of our everyday lives. However, we hide them in the car when prospective buyers are scheduled to visit. Our routine takes us about 30 minutes. 30 minutes to create the illusion of perfection.

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While we may be able to create this illusion for perspective house buyers, I realized I often try to create this illusion with God. The God that knows my every thought; the God that loves me more than the human mind can comprehend. This is the God I want present myself to as the perfect Christian with the faith to move mountains. In order to appear this way, I hide my fear and doubt from Him pretending it doesn’t exist. I go to Him in prayer like a mighty warrior pretending I’m not scared or worried about anything. Why do I think I need to or even can hide these emotions from my Heavenly Father.

Please tell me I am not alone. Maybe you are angry, defeated, or overwhelmed. Do you present these emotions to God in prayer, or do you feel like when you talk to God it has to be a conversation of love, peace and confidence? Maybe, just maybe, we set higher expectations for ourselves than God does. 1 John 3:20, “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything. ” Our hearts know we cannot measure up, but thank goodness, God is greater and more understanding than our human hearts.

Back to selling the house, when I am confused why the house hasn’t sold yet or why we haven’t found a new house that we can call OUR house, instead of just asking God why and admitting I don’t understand, I go to God and pretend that I fully trust in his timing. While I do trust him, I try to hide the dirty laundry that in reality I only 75% – 80% trust him. The remaining percent is full of questions and the desire to take the matter into my own hands.

We were actually driving around with the car full of our hidden secrets (like no one else has dirty clothes in a clothes hamper at their house) when God placed on my heart how I try to hide my undesirable emotions and feelings from Him. Now, as I am sitting here writing my thoughts, I am vowing to be more honest with my God who already knows the truth anyway. I pray that you can come to a place where there is a deep enough trust to be honest with God as well. He already knows and He loves you the same.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Bueno – No Bueno – Mucho Bueno

With God often you are getting more than you asked

unnamed Today was one of those days. When lunch time approached there was no way I could face the cottage cheese and celery I had so thoughtfully packed this morning. Based on my current stress level, a steak quesadilla from Taco Bueno was what the doctor ordered. I had a few minutes before my next meeting so I quickly headed for my lunch therapy. I took advantage of the car ride to call my daughter in Denver. She is my witness. As I pulled up to the speaker, I ordered by steak quesadilla and continued forward. When arriving at the window, I dutifully paid my bill and drove back to the office. I wrapped up my conversation with my daughter and headed to my desk. After clearing a spot on my desk for lunch and opening the computer to prepare for a working lunch. It was at that moment, the first glance into the sack, when I realized I did not have my order. In the bag were two burrito shaped packages. I was highly disappointed and angry I hadn’t checked the bag earlier. I opened the first one and it was some type of bread similar to an fry bread smeared with refried beans and stuffed with taco meat, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. It only took me seconds to devour the tasty surprise. The second package contained some kind of burrito. I tore it open before biting into it to see what my unordered gift might hold. It busted open revealing rice, beans, chicken, sour cream, tomatoes and even cilantro. All I requested was a simple quesadilla – meat, cheese, tortilla. While at first I was disappointed I didn’t get what I ordered. It only took a few tastes to see I received so much more. Pity the person that ordered burritos and got my quesadilla

I think this is often so true of our request to God. Currently 3 or our 5 children are on the hunt for purchasing their first home. Anyone who has been through this process remembers the emotional roller coaster. I have been reminiscing and comforting them by relaying memories of finding a house and praying day and night that the Lord would provide a way for us to get that house. When the offer wouldn’t be accepted or someone would offer more, I would be crushed that my prayers were not answered. However in time, God always provided a house that was so much more than the house I had chosen. It was more than meat and cheese. It was a house with lettuce tomatoes and sour cream.

When I was young and going to college, I prepared and prayed for a teaching job. All I ever wanted was to be a teacher. That was my life’s goal. However, God had such a more perfectly designed plan. While teaching is still my passion, God has taken me further in my career than I ever dreamed.

Closer to home, most recently my son and expecting daughter-in-law decided to move from a house only minutes away back to her home town 12 hours away. I have prayed many times that God would send something to change their minds and make them want to stay. Again, I was praying for meat and cheese when God probably has lettuce and tomatoes planned for them. I feel I may have been limiting them because of my selfishness.

As a child in Sunday school I learned to quote Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. I also memorized Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” These scriptures are fundamental to how I was raised and taught as a child, but I so quickly forget them when I get focused on what I want and not on what God has planned.

Don’t fret over not getting meat and cheese when in time God will provide you with much more.

Dandelions Part 3

Are you a difference maker?

Here is the final part of my dandelion trilogy that all started when I saw a bouquet of dandelions laying on a principal’s desk. My point in this blog pertains to being a flower of influence. Did you know a single dandelion plant can produce up to 2,000 seeds? No wonder a yard can so quickly turn into a dandelion patch. Just think of all the new plants one bloom can produce. One plant can easily make a difference in a yard.

So, the question is, are you as influential as a dandelion? What are you doing to make a difference in the lives of others? I could go on and on naming people who influenced and made a difference in my life. Most recently during the loss of my husband and some hard times at work, it was the phone calls, invites to dinner and helping hands that carried me through.

I only pray I can be the blessing to others that people were to me. The image of those dandelions first of all were rather pitiful. However, I couldn’t help but smile and be encouraged every time I glanced their way. I was reminded of the power one kind act can create.

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” 2 Corinthians 9:6. Obviously a dandelion sows generously all on its own. However I have found it takes a conscious effort for me to sow generously into the lives of others. Taking care of myself can easily take precedent over the needs of others if I don’t pay attention. Every time I see a dandelion from now on I’m going to try and remind myself to do something for a friend.

Be a flower of influence – vow to make a difference.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Dandelions Part 2

While often see ourselves as weeds, God created us as flowers and we need to view ourselves the way God views us.

Again, are dandelions a nuisance weed that needs to be eliminated or a delicacy that is intensely desired? You could argue both sides. Dandelions are such a universal weed problem that Round-Up uses them for commercials and even for part of the logo on their bottles of weed-killer. However, when my sister and her family were stationed in Italy, dandelions were a sought after as desired delicacy. They are actually edible from the root to the blossoms. Most often they are served with a fine meal as a green, but dandelions are also common as a tea or a jelly. You can even buy dandelion root as an herbal supplement for arthritis, diabetes or menopause. Who knew?

That is my entire point. This next part of this post is very personal and hits close to home. When you look in the mirror, what do you notice? I immediately notice flaws: my forehead is too big, I have squinty eyes, those wrinkles are getting deeper by the day and this double chin is becoming more prominent all the time. These flaws are just from the neck up. Let’s not even talk about what goes through my mind when I look in a full-length mirror. I can honestly say I never look in the mirror and think, “my what nice teeth I have.” or “those green eyes are really something that makes me unique.” I have to admit to write this, I had to go look in the mirror for some time just to come up with those two thoughts. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t look in the mirror and think, “what an ugly mug.” but I do look in the mirror and criticize what I see. I am 100% guilty of viewing myself as a weed and not looking at myself as the beautiful flower God created.

Psalm 139:13-18 “For you created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to me. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.”

Not only does this scripture tell us we are physically made in a wonderful or beautiful way, but we are also made for a purpose. God created us just the way we are big foreheads and all and we are beautiful in his site. However, there is much more to us than our physical looks. God created us for a purpose. Here again, I go about life picking on my inner qualities just like I would crawl around in the yard plucking weeds. I forget to step back and look at all of the beautiful grass.

This passage in Psalms tells us our days or our purpose is written for us and we are created for this purpose. I’m thinking about my 16th birthday. For my newly acquired driver’s license, my dad being the practical kind of guy he was, gave me tools for my car such as jumper cables. I was not excited about these gifts. I might have even been critical of them. However, the first time I was stranded with a car that wouldn’t start (we didn’t have mobile phones), I was thrilled to have the jumper cables and the knowledge on how to use them. To say they were beautiful to me at that time would not be far fetched. The same is true with the gifts God has created in us. We may not currently see the value in them, but God put them there for a reason.

I so often forget this. Instead of telling myself I may be in over my head or why do I think I can do this, there are so many other people out there better than me….. I have to stop those thoughts and remind myself that God has crated me for this purpose and equipped me with everything I need for the task. This could have never been more true than just a few weeks ago. I had a friend call me for some advice. I was very fearful to give my opinion because I felt unqualified. However, once I started talking, God gave me the words, words I would have never thought of on my own, and provide comfort and advice for a sister in Christ who was hurting.

You are not a weed. You are a beautiful flower created by God and prepared for the purpose he has for you. I hope you can learn to see the beauty in yourself that God and others see.

Send this blog to a friend who you find beautiful.

Dandelions

Weed or Flower?

Part One: dandelion

I started writing this and it just kept getting longer and longer, so I’m going to divide it up into three parts.

I got my love for a beautiful yard from my dad and Grandma Campbell. My dad took yard work to a whole new level. In the summers when my sister and I were old enough to stay home by ourselves, we had a chore list every morning that had to be completed before we could go down the street and play. It was very common for this list to include picking a sack full of weeds. Thus began my disdain for dandelions. To this day, if I see a dandelion blooming in my yard, I quickly pluck the bloom or seed plume off to make sure I don’t end up with 100s more.

It was just this week when I was visiting a principal that I noticed a bundle of dandelions wrapped in a damp paper towel lying on her desk. They were clearly a gift from a student. It is obvious this kind-hearted student does not view dandelions the same way I do. It is all a matter of perspective or personal point of view. As I drove back to the office, I had three different thoughts concerning dandelions.

Thought number one, how do you view those around you? Do you look at the people in your life and see flowers or weeds? It is so easy to quickly see others as weeds. I once worked with a lady, aka Sally, that talked all of the time. I would catch myself stewing over how much talking she was doing and wondering how she ever got any work done. I felt that way until we did a stakeholder survey. The comments on the survey over and over again mentioned how friendly and welcoming our office was. Why? because Sally talked to everyone that came through the door and made them feel comfortable. This same action that was driving me crazy, was really what made our office a welcoming place. It was all how I chose to view it – weed or flower.

What about you? How do you view that co-worker who gets on your very last nerve, takes credit for everything, does nothing, or gossips and keeps drama stirred up all the time. Maybe there is a flower there that is perceived as a weed.

Even more importantly, what about your family? As a semi-perfectionist, I often only see what is wrong. I will notice (even obsess over) the shoes that are left out before I give any thought to the kind words that were spoken that morning.

Luke 7:36 begins with a sinful woman hearing that Jesus is having dinner with a Pharisee. She goes to the house and begins to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears and then anoints His feet with oil. The Pharisee immediately saw this woman as a weed. She was a sinner, she had wasted an expensive oil. While there are multiple points to this story such as forgiveness. The point I want to make is Jesus looked past the “weediness” of the woman and saw her as a flower. I will admit I often take the path of the Pharisee and get preoccupied with the faults of others. It takes a conscious effort to look for the flower in everyone.

What you see or think is what you will get. Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.” If you think of those in your life as weeds, you will treat them as weed. It is what you are putting in your heart. Your family and friends deserve better. We need to be like the child who picked dandelions for her principal. We need to look for the flower in those around us.

The Cleaning of the Vacuum Roller

Are you entangled in everyday life?

It all started as we were watching the Thunder game last night. I don’t know if it was exuberance or rage, but popcorn went flying across the floor. Enough so I had to drag out the vacuum cleaner. As I was sweeping, a rogue popcorn hull was just rattling around in the sweeper head refusing to move up into the canister. Thus causing me to do the unthinkable, turn the sweeper upside down to stick my hand in the sweeper head to remove the hull. Unfortunately, I found myself face to face with at least a year’s worth of thread, yarn and hair (oh the hair) wrapped around the vacuum roller. a forty-five minute task ensued. I began with a lone piece of yarn from a long ago kitchen rug. I just pulled on one end and it easily unwound. I then moved on to what had to be half a spool of yellow thread. It wasn’t so easy to remove. I resorted to the scissors. Finally I was down to just hair. Scissors proved to be unsuccessful ergo resorting to a razor blade. After quite some amount of work, the roller was freed.

Now keep in mind. The vacuum cleaner did nothing to cause this to happen. It was just doing its job sucking up debris from our carpets, yet still found itself wrapped up with shreds of waste. How true is this of our lives? At least mine. I get so caught up doing life, just living day to day, that I get wrapped up and entangled with all the meaningless details and distractions. I can get so wound up that I forget to focus on the purpose for which I was created. Maybe it is the pressures from work that you cannot leave at the office, but carry them home dragging around your ankle. Or could it be bills that seem to keep mounting up – not the bills from over spending that you created, but just the bills of living. Sometimes for me it is the time I spend on silly task like cleaning the vacuum roller instead of sitting with my family to watch the rest of the basketball game or the time I spend on FB and Candy Crush (true confession). I can get so wrapped up on daily tasks that nothing else seems to matter. There is a false sense of urgency that creates false priorities. They build up around me just like the hair on the vacuum roller and keep me from my quiet time, time I could spend ministering to others or time I could simply spend with my family.

Some of these entanglements are as easy to remove as the yarn from the kitchen rug. However, some are so deeply entrenched a razor blade is required for extraction. In Philippians 3:13 Paul talks about forgetting the past. Oh, and did he have a past. I think it would be safe to say, Paul was carrying around chains comparable to Ebeneezer Scrooge. Yet, he was able to drop them and move forward in a victorious life as designed by God. In verse 17-20 Paul calls us to join him and follow his example of living a life focused on Christ. He follows that with directions to take note of those that are focused on earthly things for they are headed for destruction.

How do we keep from getting wrapped up in the details of life? One thread at a time. Start small by making a commitment to drop one meaningless task for one task that God desires to be a priority in your life. I wish I could say I had this mastered. I’m probably the worst at putting God in second place to common house hold chores. In Luke 14-24, Jesus tells a parable of man who invited many to a supper, but the invitees had many excuses: plow the field, test oxen, be with a new wife. So, what did the master do? He sent his servant out to the highways and hedges to find guest that were willing to drop what they were doing and attend his dinner. As I was cleaning my vacuum roller last night, I realized I am often too wrapped up in my priorities to set them aside and focus on God’s priorities. I hope you don’t have to spend forty-five minutes looking at the underneath side of your sweeper to be reminded life should be lived for God’s purpose.

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Why Shoes?

Trust that God has you prepared

I spent many hours thinking about what to call my blog, and I kept coming back to something that had to do with shoes. This could be because I absolutely love shoes or because once I get something in my head, I can’t think of anything else. Anyway, there are two reasons why shoes are so great. First, no matter how much weight you gain or lose, your shoes always fit. Second, a great pair of shoes can change an ordinary outfit into extraordinary.

The thing is every pair of shoes in my closet serves a different purpose. I have a pair I wear for exercise, a pair for casual jeans versus the pair for dressier jeans, and of course multiple pairs for work. I often think about my day and pick an outfit around the pair of shoes I need to wear that day. If I’m going to be on my feet all day visiting school sites, I need to wear more comfortable shoes. If my day will be spent sitting in meetings all day, it is the perfect day to pull out the killer heels.

However, it was just this last week, that I was caught unprepared and without the shoes I needed. According to the local weather guy, it was going to be a beautiful day with rain in the evening. I was going to be sitting in interviews all day, so out came a pair of stilettos that easily added four inches to my short stature. As the interviews were coming to a close, I received a text message asking me to come over to a school site for an unexpected meeting. I was glad to do this, unfortunately when approaching the doors to leave the school, I quickly noticed the rain had come in early, and I was parked at the furthest end of the parking lot. Trying to block some rain with the books in my hand, I headed out in the deluge. I tried to run at one point, but that was a complete joke and a sure way to break an ankle. What I needed was rain boots. What I had were shoes that created a genuine risk to my ability to stay upright. I actually at about the half-way point in the parking lot contemplated taking them off and going barefoot.

As I was drying off in the car, one thought lead to another and I was soon thinking about how wonderfully God always prepares us for the adventure, adversity or any circumstance we face. I thought of the many times I found myself in life situations that required hiking boots or full on combat boots, yet God made sure I was prepared for those times and had the shoes I needed to get through them.

One small example would be about the time my children were in high school and not so dependent upon me. I felt the need to reconnect with some friends that were in the same place in life. As young mothers, we were extremely close taking our daughters to gymnastics and dance together as well as sitting shoulder to shoulder through countless softball games. We now lived in three different areas of the metro, but easily available to meet for dinner. After the first dinner, it was decided our meetings should become a monthly event. Only God knew that after about 8 months of regular dinners and a rekindled friendship, I would begin down the path of care taker for a terminally ill spouse. It was these ladies who were by my side and carried me through this dark time in life.

Ephesians 2:10 ” For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Not only are we created by God, but He also intends good for our lives and He will prepare us to be all He desires. I know I could not serve in my role at work without the numerous mentors God placed in my life at an early age. I could not be a friend or confidante for others without the life experiences God has allowed me to experience. It is only because of the path we have walked and the shoes we have worn, that we can be who God desires us to be. Currently your life path may need steel-toed construction boots or you may be enjoying a comfy pair of rejuvenating beach sandals. Which ever it may be, love the path you are on and the shoes you are wearing. God has prepared your for this time.

In the morning, when you are picking out what shoes to wear, know that God has prepared you for what you will face on this day.