Never Follow A Sheep Wearing New Shoes

We have a dress code where I work. We’re supposed to look professional, not casual, so it was a real treat to get to wear my brand spankin’ new sneakers that day.

They’re “New Balance” sneakers. “Cross-trainers” to be exact. I guess that means they’re suitable to wear when training for more than one sport and you know what? I have found that to be a true assessment in their advertising.

I use mine for extra traction on those short sprints between the refrigerator and the television AND for slower-paced activities, like toddling toward the bed for a nap... and they work just great! But that’s beside the point.

It was sheer laziness that compelled me to get dressed in the dark “that day.” I mean, the light switch in my bedroom was just a mere three feet away as I slid my big old double-wides into those sassy new kicks (that I had also been too lazy to untie the night before when I took them off). But you’ve got to understand: it was 4am. No human being in their right mind wants lights shining in their eyes THAT early in the morning, right? Of course not!

Because new shoes trigger a powerful chemical reaction in a woman’s DNA that makes her feel super-human and on top of the world, I was pretty confident about getting dressed in the dark. I even managed to get my underwear on right side out and facing forward this time. THIS, my friend, was going to be a gooood day.

I strolled through the doors of the radio station where I work around 4:35am. I walked as tall and proud as a short, round person can, marveling at the sure-footed effectiveness of the tread on my New Balance sneakers as I trundled back and forth from carpeted surface to tiled surface.

I walked with purpose all morning long, just waiting for someone else to admire my new shoes as much I did. But nobody EVER said a WORD! FOR CRYIN’ OUT LOUD! Did they utterly LACK the ability to recognize “cool” when it was in their midst?!!

Disappointed but undaunted, I made my last circuit around the building just before noon. Silently grousing, I decided that if no one ELSE was going to bother to admire my shoes, I would just do it myself.

Bouncing on my heels into a dimly-lit back room, I stopped…breathed in the gloriously deep breath of anticipation…and looked down upon my queenly feet.

Oh no. No! No! No! No! No! No! NO!

The dim light was surely playing tricks on my eyes. I blinked several times in an effort to ensure clarity of vision and then…I looked down again.

Having gotten dressed in the dark that day out of sheer laziness, as I have already admitted, I stared in wide-eyed, pride-crushing horror at the fashion faux pas on my feet. I was wearing one beautiful, pristinely white New Balance sneaker….and one old, broken down New Balance sneaker that hadn’t been white since at least the fall of 2006.

Guys, I know you don’t understand the agony of the situation. And I am sure you don’t know THIS, either, but we gals secretly ADMIRE that men have no conscience whatsoever about wearing two different colored socks in public and never letting that ruin your day. All you care about is that they are clean, but even THAT is negotiable if you can turn a dirty sock inside out so it LOOKS clean. Rock on! More power to you! Women just aren’t wired that way.

All that pride I had been wearing on my squared shoulders as I strutted like a peacock that day now sat heavily in the pit of my stomach as I feared stepping back into the light from that dark room LEST someone see me.

As I quietly thanked the Lord that no one had noticed my sneakers, He flooded my mind with the wisdom of His Word.

It was the seduction of laziness that had gotten me in trouble to begin with. Proverbs 25:15 - The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

I was bloated with pride over something as silly as new shoes! Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Ouch!)

Again, as I thanked God that NO ONE had noticed my shoes, I was certain I could almost hear Him giggling and asking, “How do you KNOW they didn’t notice? Perhaps they did, but my grace was upon you?” 2 Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

I thought to myself, “We really ARE like sheep in need of a shepherd…except I am not sure I am even as smart as mutton on the hoof.”

In an instant, my self-righteous pride had vanished into humility and thankfulness that God loves me in spite of my silly self, and that when I realize my error and confess it before Him, He shows me compassion through His Son. Mark 6:34 - When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

“…..He began teaching them many things…”

Indeed.

It's amazing what God can teach us by using the least likely tools we might imagine. I'll never get dressed in the dark again.

Psalm 136: 1 & 23 - Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever…..to the One who remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.