IF THE SHOE FITS
I brought home more than a paycheck from my very first job at the shoe store. I also gained a sense of my soul’s true condition.
For as a teen raised in the Gospel light, I knew the difference between right and wrong - if only I had taken it to heart.
Instead, my job fitting feet revealed that as a proclaimed Christian, I did not measure up.
I barely masked displeasure removing smelly sneakers. I offered help, hoping no one took me up on it. But worst of all, I withheld the grace of God that had been so freely given me.
Jo joined our staff in my senior year. I noted her chipped black polish and harshly lined eyes that averted mine, as I graciously taught her tricks of the trade. Her shrugs and gum snaps displayed apparent indifference and I took immediate offense.
But had I been paying closer attention to God’s whisper than my own ego, I would have leaned in with compassion. Rather, I remained secretly offended and kept a cordial distance.
Jo’s brief career was marked by messy displays, overflowing ash trays and frequent absences that left us short-handed. Still, she never seemed to notice the glares sent her way much like I failed to see the pain she was hiding.
Then one chilly morning, the staff met. My eyes rolled at the suggestion to wait a few more minutes for the ever tardy Jo. A shrill ring prompted a joke that she was calling in sick again.
The manager entered the room and delivered news that would forever fill me with regret.
Jo was murdered the day before by her abusive father.
As the words sunk in, the emptiness I felt paled in comparison to the shame.
True, I may not have been able to prevent her tragic death, but I could have added much-needed kindness to her life- if I had only embraced the truth of the Bible I carried.
To truly be like Jesus, we must offer the mercy to others that we have received. To grasp that mercy, we must lay down our own self-righteousness.
There are times when I still struggle to see people through God’s eyes, but then His love compels me to look deeper and see the eyes of Jo.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 niv