Barefoot in the Parking Lot

It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes I even surprise myself, and Sunday was one of those days. It was the first time that I walked out of church barefoot. My feet were cold and endured some minor pain as I quickly jaunted across the parking lot. It only took about thirty seconds for me to begin missing my favorite cowboy boots, which I had donated at the altar to be given to someone in greater need for a pair of shoes on their feet.

Perhaps it was divine intervention, as I am sure there are a number of people who were praying for me to put my worn out boots to rest. Nonetheless, they were my favorite shoes and it was hard to give them up. Reminds me a bit of real life. Sometimes we are encouraged to do things that are difficult. Even when we know it is the right thing to do, it doesn’t always make it any easier.

I believe that people, by nature, are caring and open to lending a helping hand. If you ask someone for a small favor, they will most likely help you out on the simple things like rescheduling a meeting, spotting them a few dollars for lunch or watching over your house while you are out of town.

It gets a little trickier on some of the bigger requests like giving up a weekend to help someone move, disrupting a well-planned event to meet the needs of someone else or letting someone else take the credit even though you deserve to be recognized. These requests might cause us to pause a moment before accepting and may have some residual emotions even when deep down you know you are doing the right thing.

My initial hesitation to giving up my cowboy boots surprised me a bit. If you had asked me if I would give them away, I would have said sure. But when I actually had to walk off without them, it wasn’t as easy as I had expected. This experience got me thinking about the things I own that I wouldn’t be willing to give up at any cost and what things I own that I should have let go of long ago. I guess this proves once again doing the right thing sure isn’t easy!

Comments

[Susan Schneider]

Hi Al,

Thanks for your comment. With all that you do to support your community, your feedback means a lot. We all need constant reminders of how good we have it!

[Al Blumenberg]

Nice blog Susan. It really makes you think about what is important.