Scuff Marks On The Soles Of Our Shoes

There are plenty of statements that play on repeat in our minds.
Many of those statements are things we learned as children.
Even into our adult life, we still hear them.
No wonder people say they begin to sound like their parents after a while.

Wash your hands.
Wipe your feet.
Brush your teeth.
Elbows off the table.

Watch your tone.
Inside voices.
Be nice.
Say you’re sorry.

Something I remember as a child came back to me when some shoes I ordered arrived.
I took the shoes out of the box and proceeded to try them on.
I was in the kitchen at the time.
I immediately went into the family room.

I put the shoes on and walked around a bit.
I liked them and found myself smiling.
I was not smiling at the shoes.
I was smiling at the words that repeated in my head.

Walk on the rug in your new shoes.
I could hear it as plain as day.
Don’t walk on the floor or you will scuff up the soles.
I never understood that, since shoes are supposed to get marks on the soles.

I remember when I asked my mother why I had to walk on the rug.
You cannot get the shoes dirty until we know if we are keeping them or not, she would say.
As if that explained it to my little girl’s mind.
Walking on the floor or outside makes marks; walking on the rug keeps the soles clean.

When we decided to keep the shoes, then I could finally get marks on the soles.
It was always so much fun to wear my new shoes outside.
Like the first footprints in newly fallen snow were the first marks on the soles of my shoes.
I laugh at the thought now but it was a really big deal to me then.

Easter shoes were kept in the box until Easter.
If I tried them on to break them in, it always had to be on the rug.
Sneakers were the only shoes that did not require me to walk on the rug.
Sneakers were play shoes and they got to be worn right away.

When I had my own children, I did the same thing when they were little.
New dress shoes waited for the occasion for which they were purchased.
After that, they could be worn all the time.
Breaking the new shoes in meant walking on the rug; I sounded just like my mother.

I understand now why my mother did what she did.
I even know why I repeated it when my own children were little.
However, shoes are to be worn.
Shoes are to be worn in all places and on all surfaces, not just on the rug.

The stories our shoes could tell.
The places our shoes have been.
Each scuff mark on our soles tells a story.
Marks on the soles of our shoes give evidence to that fact that we are on a journey.

We are journeying to our Heavenly home.
Our shoes must have marks on the soles.
Our shoes better not be clean.
We need to be telling others about our Lord Jesus as we journey.

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:12-15)

The feet of those who bring Good News are beautiful.
You can be certain that those beautiful feet are not clean.
You can be certain that the shoes on those beautiful feet have many scuff marks on the soles.
You can be certain that those beautiful feet have walked miles and miles proclaiming Christ.

If our shoes look brand new then it means we must not be wearing them.
We must not be playing hard or working hard.
We must be keeping them safe in our closets, never to be pulled out and worn.
We must be more sedentary than we think.

We have a job to do.
We have Good News to tell.
We need to scuff up the soles of our shoes in order to tell that Good News.
We need to get our feet dirty as we walk to places we have never been so the people will hear.

Walk on the rug?
Not when there is Good News to tell.
We must walk on the highways, and byways, and dirt roads, and around the neighborhood.
Get the soles of your shoes dirty and tell the Good News.

One response to “Scuff Marks On The Soles Of Our Shoes”

1. Remember that concept, and I think I evenused it sometimes with my kids! 🙂

   Reply

   • Janna,
     I imagine many moms did the same thing as a way to keep the shoes nice until they needed to be worn. Isn’t it funny, the things we remember?
     Gina

     Reply