Well Worn Shoes

Does anyone else wear shoes, slippers, or sandals until they literally fall apart while you’re out?

When I love a pair of shoes, I wear them forever until the bottoms come off, the edges are stripped to the bone, and they actually fall apart. I’ve had shoes fall apart on me more times than I can count. A heel breaking off while at an event, a slipper sole flapping around as a tripping hazard so I had to pull it off to carry on with my day, or on a hike with a hole and the dirt is finding its way in.

That’s how it is when you find a really good pair of shoes. At first, they are stiff and you need to break them in, but once you do, they form to your feet and feel like a part of you. And they take you on adventures of muddy trails, rocky steep steps, and amazing views.

At least that’s what these hiking shoes did for me. This pair lasted over 7 years and took the biggest beating of any hiking shoes since the pandemic years of 2020 to 2023, were filled with the most hiking in my life here in Hawai`i. With nothing much we could do, our family went hiking about once a week.

So as the bottom started falling apart, it was hard to let it go. So many memories wrapped up in these shoes and the things we have conquered and seen. But it was time to retire them and break in a new pair. It was time for a new, New Balance.

That’s the shoe I really fell in love with and ironically, the New Balance was almost calling me to move into a new season, which didn’t necessarily mean give up hiking, but that when things are too comfortable, that’s when they also start falling apart. And a stiff new shoe, was needing to be worn in.

It reminded me of how we can get so comfortable that if we don’t pay attention, it might be while we’re out on a trail and need to be at our best, that we may start falling apart.

Are you a pair of well worn shoes?

Maybe it’s time to find a new balance and not let something new and hard scare you, but excite you as you wear it to fit you, and whatever adventures are in store. Let’s find peace by piece in a new pair of shoes, and God as our guide.

“Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. -Genesis 12:1