Walk in someone else’s shoes.

Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes…

This is a phrase I love to reflect on, in the same way that our precious saviour came down from heaven and spent 33 years living on earth.  We, as his people, are called to live a life that serves and loves others.  But how do we serve someone if we do not know or understand their lives?

Now I don’t know about you, but I sure have a strange foot. It is big and long but also very wide. The average shoe doesn’t always seem to fit perfectly. I often get sores on my feet from shoes that have rubbed me the wrong way and then must buy new shoes that give me some relief from the previous, very well-meaning shoes. If that isn’t enough, I also seem to have one foot that is slightly bigger than the other. I find myself often having to make the compromise of shoes that are one size too small on one foot or one size too big on the other.

I wonder if this could sometimes reflect the way we choose to serve our fellow man.  Is our well-intended service something that fits?  Does it really need to fit snuggly like a comfy pair of shoes or is the act of service enough?  Even when it may be uncomfortable or leave a rather large blister?

In my mind, to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes implies that we are taking the time and energy to put on their shoes, to see the circumstances that their lives are made up of. To take the time, to be led step by step to understand how their foot fits in their shoes. How these circumstances created the person that they are.  What are their gifts, strengths, and skills?  And what are some of their areas of need and frustration?  What do they love and get excited about now?  What is their hope for the future?  How can we empower them to find that hope and to hold on to it?

But, what if that person doesn’t walk?

I love the way our Sunflower Ministries Team attempts to love our kiddos with disabilities and their families.  For many of our families we have spent over 3 years doing community with them. Our team, made up of mostly young women, visit our Sunflower families weekly. We go with no ultimatum, no agenda except with the desire to love their child and to understand, if we were to help, how we might be able to.  We ask questions, we share stories and meals, we hold celebration days to gather our community together, and we play games and laugh a whole lot.  We see our families at their best and at their worst, just as they see us at our best and at our worst. We visit when things are hard and in times of ease, we grieve together, we support each other, and we do all this never assuming that we are anything but equals in this journey through life.

Now, we sure do not do this perfectly.  We are slowly learning how to help without hurting, how to love and give where is needed.  We struggle every day to know if what we are doing is truly working.  And we grapple in prayer with our Jesus, who so perfectly loved and served those around Him, to help us.

We are so thankful for our community, for our staff that humbly desire to love our Sunflowers and for the wisdom and guidance that we receive by His spirit.  We pray for the shoes of Christ; the worn down, humble, blessed shoes that bring the Good News.