Shoes That Don’t Fit!
Why do these kinds of things happen to me every so often? Not all the time, but frequently enough to show me there is a pattern. I regularly find myself is strange predicaments. Tonight I’m sitting on the dugout bench on the local softball field. Our church men’s softball team is getting ready to play a game against another superior team. We were asked to move up one division because the rec softball coordinator is a friend of mine and our usual league was full. Now we are over our heads. But that’s not my real issue tonight.
When I was walking out of the garage to come tonight I threw my bat bag and cleats into the back of the truck without much thought. When I arrived at the ball field and pulled my gear out I realized the cleats were not my cleats. They looked the same, and they were sitting right next to my bat bag, so I assumed they were mine. Low and behold they were Amanda’s cleats, my daughter’s shoes. Now I wear a size ten and a half, sometimes I can squeeze into a ten. Amanda wears a 7.5. I knew I was in trouble. I could either play in the sandals I drove over in, or try to fit into cleats three sizes too small. I decided to try the latter.
I loosened the laces and stretched out the sides as much as I could, but only had five minutes to get ready to play. I jammed my fat feet into those little shoes and surprisingly they didn’t feel too bad. That is, until the end of the first inning. They soon hurt; then they hurt a lot. Try hitting a ball and running the bases with club feet. Half way through the game I felt the blisters forming. I’ve never had toe cramps simultaneously in all ten toes before. It was a night to remember. For that game, loosing was not the most painful part of the evening. After the game I peeled off the shoes to find redness and blisters on both feet. Note to self: In the future, don’t wear your daughter’s shoes.
The Bible teaches us that God has given to all believers spiritual gifts. These gifts include mercy, teaching, wisdom, hospitality, leadership, etc. The Bible mentions almost two dozen unique gifts that are given to His children at the time of salvation. We each have one, or a mix of two or maybe three. The purpose of these gifts is to encourage other Christians. 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that the Holy Spirit distributes these gifts to each one as He sees fit. We can be confident in the truth of obtaining at least one and then implementing it somewhere within the ministries of your local congregation.
There is a danger, however, in wanting one gift, but being given another. We may want the gift of leadership, but in fact, have been given the gift of mercy. In such an instance this individual will be a fish out of water. They are trying to serve in an area where they are not gifted or passionate. Soon the experience will become painful for both the leader and the followers. Like shoes that are too small, serving in an area outside of our gifting and passion becomes very uncomfortable. Blisters begin to form.
On the other hand, discovering, developing, and then implementing one’s accurate gift or gift mix is exhilarating. There are few things in life more fulfilling than going home from a church gathering in which you made a difference in the life of another Christian brother or sister. Because we are all called by God to serve one another (1 Peter 4:10-11), and we are gifted by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) we know this is God’s will for our lives.
When we serve each other, let’s make sure we are doing so in the area of giftedness that God has provided. Let’s not simply try and choose when, where, and how we want to serve. But let’s get the right shoes to fit our feet. In doing so we will serve the Lord with gladness, not to mention be far more comfortable in the process.
