Are My Feet Too Small?

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
And He delights in his way. Psalm 37:23 NKJV

When a baby is born watchful parents take note of its growth–they watch how fast their feet grow, how much weight they gain and much longer they get. It’s really a little difficult to miss the growth of a baby since they need new clothes often and especially shoes by the time they start walking.

Sometimes, silly parents–of which I am one–when playing with children compare their hand size and feet size to them. Yes, I know, but it’s a fun game and kids get a kick out of it, watching how big their hands and feet get–compared to their parents.

However, there are some parents who take the game farther–sometimes out of reach of the child when they expect their children to keep up with them–either walking or in their endeavors in life. I hate seeing a mother dragging a toddler along, expecting them to keep up with when the child’s feet are too small and their stride too short to keep up with the mother. As they get older and parent gets more demanding–they expect things of a child that they are either too small to do or too immature to know how to do. This is especially true of parents (or grandparents) who expect a lot from teenagers. The frontal lobe of our brains are not fully developed until we’re about 23-25 years old. So, when we yell at teenagers about doing stupid things, it’s because they don’t know better in many cases. After all, we’re judging their actions by our experiences–experiences they have not had.

So, since God has ordered the steps of the righteous and delights in us–when we stumble and fall by the wayside is it because our feet are too small to stay on the path He has established? Or is it that–the steps He’s ordered are way too big for us to navigate? Either way, I think we can take an object lesson from looking at who He is and His expectations of us and how we treat kids. The physiology of a person may interfere with their maturity on a physical and moral level, but how long does it take us to develop into spiritually mature Believers? Do we make it  at 25 years-old and or is it much older? Some never make it because once they look at the size of their feet–and realize their feet may be too small–they take another path–one that usually leads to destruction.

God’s expectations of us are not too great–after all–He created us and He knows exactly when our feet will fit the path He’s established. The problem is–most of us don’t and so we sit back and complain, angry with God and the world because we have not realized what size our feet are.

I’ve often threatened my children and my students (figuratively) to put my size 10s up their hind parts if they didn’t get their act together and move towards succeeding in life. I’ve always been teased about having big feet, but when I realize just how awesome the path is that God wants me to travel, I know my feet need to grow some. My prayer for spiritual maturity is constant because every time I think I’ve made some progress, a challenge arises and I know, I haven’t made it yet.

God knows my foot size and the path He has established fits–I just have to figure out how to plant my feet firmly and not be moved by circumstances in order to continue the journey. How about you? Are your feet too small?

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Fight Back!

Has life beaten you up lately?

When everything we attempt to do appears to be futile and nothing seems to work, we often tend to feel like we have beaten up and left to lick our wounds.

If you have ever been in a physical fight–you might understand this reference.  Usually, especially when I was a younger child, if a there was any type of conflict between two people, others gathered to instigate until someone threw the first punch.  If that punch landed on target, there was usually some pain felt and that pain ignited reaction.  That reaction led to other punches until someone stopped the fight or both parties were exhausted.  Sometimes a winner was declared and sometimes, it was a draw–no clear victor.

Life is a fight and sometimes–there are no clear victors–but we can remain victorious to fight another day.  How?  Fight the obstacles of life the same way you would fight in a physical confrontation.  I don’t mean go beat people up, but you when feel the pain of the first hit–fight back–react in such a way that whatever the problem is–let “it” know–you’re in it to win it–if not today, you will be back and you’ll keep fighting the good fight of faith until you see victory over all the challenges that attempted to beat you up! So what if the first punch knocked you down–get up, get up!  Take your fighting stance, look your opponent in the face and “strike back” anticipating another reaction, but ready to block it!

Nothing in life is fair and if we think it should be, we are setting ourselves up for failure.  Life is–however–what we make it–it is our choice.  Are you going to climb over, go through, go around or merely sit and dwell on the misery when challenges arise in your life?  Fight back!  It may not be easy, but it is possible, for with Christ–we can do all things, well!