I don’t know about you, but I hate buying shoes. Oh, I know it’s beneficial and I love the end results, but I don’t enjoy the process. I must try on so many pairs before I can find the perfect match. I also become very attached to old shoes. They may be ripping at the seams and have holes, but they are comfortable, and they are mine. I know what miles I have walked in each pair of shoes. I know which shoes I was wearing when the guy told me I was pretty. I remember the shoes I wore to an audition or a special occasion. Shoes are like a piece of where I’ve been and of the miles I’ve traveled.
I like to compare friends to shoes. When you first meet a good friend they are snazzy, new, and so put together. At first you are not sure how to fit them into your life. Maybe this person looks really cool from far away but how could they possibly want to be friends, with an ordinary person like me? You want them to fit but we all know the pain of wearing cute shoes that pinched our toes. But friend you must be brave and go make some friends. Share your smile. Some people may reject you but keep being the person God has called you to be. He will show you. Some friends may appear perfect. However, the more you get to know them the more real they seem. Outward appearance is such a small portion of what truly lies inside a person. It’s what in the soul that counts (for shoes and people 😊).
There are some shoes that you would never where in the rain, they are not durable. There are other shoes that you would wear to a party while others are perfect for cleaning the car. I think some friends are like that. Some friends can empathize with your deep pain. They know when to speak and when to stay silent. Many times, God puts friends in our lives that can empathize with our pain because they have walked the same road before and have tasted the same flavor of heartache.
Our friends will fail time and time again. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” Prov. 27:6. The shoes will break, and you will have to go to the shoe store again to try on fifty some pairs before finding the right one. Sometimes our friends will leave and our hearts will stand by and break. But alas we cannot keep every shoe. Sometimes it’s sad when we are just getting comfortable in our new pair of shoes and then leave. But we must trust God. He must have brought a friend in our lives for a reason that may never be explained to us. You have no idea how your life could be eternally impacting your friends lives, even those friends that walk away.
Sometimes it is healthy to let our friends go. Just like I had to throw away shoes that I’ve had for years due to sentimental reasons, we to must put aside feelings of the past and walk in the new future God has for us. Lives will move on and situations change. It can be difficult to give up control and say goodbye to memories or moments of affection but You can trust God. It is better to surrender at God’s timing then to hold on and cause more damage after God has asked for the release.
But you know what? Jesus is the closest friend you can ever have. He has walked every mile with you. If you are His child then He is with you through every puddle, every heart break, and every time you turn away. Jesus is there. He will never leave you or forsake you. Stop looking for a perfect friend, a perfect parent, or a perfect spouse. They will never be flawless. We cannot expect them to be.
But Christ Jesus is flawless. He will never leave me. Only Jesus Himself can completely empathize with my pain and wipe away every tear. Jesus is the best friend in the world because He is God and He is the only one who completely understands.
“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold O LORD, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it” Psalm 139:1-6.
So be thankful for your family and friends. They are worth keeping. But as you take each step remember the One who goes before you and walks beside you. With His steps He bore our sins as He walked to Calvary. When we belong to Jesus He can mold our will to fit into His. And then there is always a perfect fit between you and Your Savior. ❤
Thorns amidst the Roses 