Dirty Shoes

I’m sitting here writing this as I’m staring at my dirty shoes. I actually had some spare time even though it’s finals week, and I thought maybe I would try and write my blog early. I began to type, but the words felt meaningless and uninspired…So I erased it all, sat back from my laptop, and then noticed that my Converse sitting in the corner of the room were looking pretty dirty. The shiny white new look is gone and instead they look like they’ve been pretty worn down. I actually like them better now then when they looked brand new. Those Converse tell a story, they’ve done their job, and now they have something to show for it.

Okay, so maybe those Converse don’t really tell much of a story. But you and I do.

You’ve got to get some dirt on your shoes.

Because when you do get dirt on your shoes, you can leave footprints as God works.

You and I are like those Converse. We serve a God-given purpose, but we can’t fulfill that purpose without the mud and mess that comes with it. If you want to leave a footprint, you have to step in the mud somewhere along the way. This could mean you have to get out of your comfort zone and go serve some place where you normally wouldn’t or don’t want to be. This could mean it’s going to rain down on you right where you are and the ground beneath you suddenly all becomes a mess. In that case, the only way to go is right through it. This could mean you have to go find someone else’s mess and jump right in. Whatever it is, someway somehow you will run into mud somewhere and you’re going to have to make the choice to either embrace the mess or escape the mess.

God calls us to embrace the mess.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10-

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God’s power is made perfect in the mess…Last week I wrote about “Spiritual Battleship” and how I had been feeling like I was under attack. At the time, I really felt like I was losing that game and my ships were quickly sinking. Just one week later, and I’m feeling drastically different. Even though there are still a lot of unresolved situations, today I feel like I’m winning. I’m not winning because the situations are going away. I’m not winning because I’m ignoring those situations. I’m winning because God works in the mess and my dirty shoes still serve a purpose. Although I’ve been feeling like I’ve made a mess of my life while Satan has been firing against me, now I’ve got mud on my shoes. I’d like to think there is no better way to boast Satan’s defeat in his face then by walking past him standing tall, towards God’s open arms, with my dirty Converse on. Jokes on him, a little mess doesn’t scare God away, it invites Him in. Grace wouldn’t make sense if God didn’t work in messy places.

My life may be a mess. By God’s grace, it is a beautiful mess. My shoes are dirty, but by God’s grace they still serve a purpose. I’ve been walking through the storm and I’m looking pretty worn, but by God’s grace I still tell a story.

There is nothing wrong with dirty Converse. So walk through the mud and the mess towards God’s grace as you leave your muddy footprint behind to tell God’s story.