Not your pair of shoes
It is not that easy to be at ease in the midst of a situation when things don’t go as you thought they would, let alone being thankful when you don’t even understand why this all is happening.
“My boots are too tight for my big toes.” My daughter’s waterproof boots were no longer a right fit for her. And we still had tons of snow outside and a couple more weeks to go before all the snow would melt.
I don’t drive, so we did some online shoe shopping. After going through a selection of winter boots, we chose a nice pair of waterproof boots and placed the order. The delivery was supposed to be in four days. Even though we wished it was earlier, all we had to do is to patiently wait.
On the second day’s morning, I saw a call from the front door on my cellphone. I was hesitant if I should open the door or not, as I didn’t expect anyone to come. Eventually, I missed the call. Was that the delivery? It couldn’t be. According to the tracking number, the shoe delivery was not until Thursday.
Anyway, I decided to check the tracking and to my surprise I saw an “attempted delivery” notice on the screen. Immediately, I rushed downstairs in a hope of still being able to catch the driver on his way back to the delivery truck with our shoe box, but there was no one to be seen.
Disappointed I went back upstairs and called the courier to schedule redelivery. I was so bitter and sad. We could have already had the shoes today, and my daughter could have worn them to school tomorrow.
I sat in the kitchen and cried, beating myself up for not opening the front door on time and postponing the delivery. I prayed to God, asking why it had to happen this way. After the prayer, I felt better and let it all go. It was no one’s fault after all and there was nothing I could do, but to wait for the redelivery.
The much-anticipated box finally arrived. We opened up the box excitedly. As we pulled the shoes out of the box, my daughter and I remained quiet for a moment. The shoes didn’t look exactly as they were on the picture. They fit big and wide, and the bottom of the boots resembled after the tire of a tractor. After my daughter tried them on, she said she didn’t like them, and neither did I.
Thank you, God! At that moment I understood that God knew everything from the beginning. He knew the shoes in that box were not the right one for us. And there was no need for them to be delivered earlier or be delivered at all.
The next day we went to the store and returned the boots. We visited another shoe store and came across an amazing pair of waterproof boots, stylish looking which fit perfectly. Without any hesitation we made the purchase.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
I forgot to be thankful to God in the midst of it all. I was so focused on that pair of shoes which I thought was just the right one for us. It never occurred to me that maybe God had something better for us compared to what I chose. It was a good reminded to trust God in everything. If we don’t trust God in small things, how can we trust Him in big things.
Oftentimes we don’t understand the reason why some things happen to us because we don’t know the true reality of things. We only perceive, expect and dream of how good that thing would be for us once we receive it. But what if we are mistaking? What if God has something much better for us?
I didn’t know what was in the box that I was so eagerly expecting. In my imagination, I thought the boots in the box were just the right ones. God knew what was in the box. He knew those shoes were not a good fit for us. I made the wrong choice. He knew that our pair of boots was just around the corner. The better ones. The right ones.
Let’s trust the Lord in everything. And give thanks for everything.
Trust when things didn’t work out the way you thought they would.
Trust when you missed that call.
Trust when the relationship ended.
Trust when the relationship hadn’t started.
Trust when you didn’t get that job offer.
Stop being sad and trust. Trust the Lord. He knows everything. Trust His plan. Always.
Amen.
Live and rejoice.
