Growing up I did everything the hard way. You could not tell me or warn me, I had to do it myself. I am still a little like that now but for different reasons.
I remember how my parents constantly told me to wear shoes as a child. I hated any form of restraint, let's just say I was a "spirited" child and leave it at that. Anyway, most times I went out barefoot, nothing happened and I returned home knowing that I obviously knew best because I was fine, my feet were fine and I was happy. However, there was that one time that I went out and all was not fine and for all the times that I fought and snickered at the pleas to put on shoes...I wished I had just put on my stinking shoes.
I was a banshee child of 4 years old I think: mangled curly brown hair, chubby cheeks, dirty nails from playing in the dirt, wildly curious dark brown eyes, a love for creepy crawlies and yes, bare feet That was a very realistic mental picture of me everyday. I loved to be outside: in the top of a tree, digging in the dirt, playing in the "forbidden" creek or whatever I wasn't supposed to be doing as the prim and proper only baby girl in the house. I knew of no Texas heat too hot for outside play and I did not know time, out at sunrise and in at sunset that was all I needed to know.
This day was a little different from the usual, we had visitors. We lived in a Spanish style home with red clay tiles on the roof which were notorious for leaks. So once again, we had the roofers out to find and repair the roof leak for what seemed as the billionth time. I was getting very familiar with them as I was very curious child, constantly underfoot, not malicious but, always wanting to "help". On this day, one of the men, Javier was particularly patient and kind. I think he actually was voted to "take one for the team" and occupy me for a bit. He sat on the edge of the roof and talked with me in our broken languages. I am sure I asked him every question there was to ask and he politely answered what he could and a little while later, he was summoned away back to work.
I remember how my parents constantly told me to wear shoes as a child. I hated any form of restraint, let's just say I was a "spirited" child and leave it at that. Anyway, most times I went out barefoot, nothing happened and I returned home knowing that I obviously knew best because I was fine, my feet were fine and I was happy. However, there was that one time that I went out and all was not fine and for all the times that I fought and snickered at the pleas to put on shoes...I wished I had just put on my stinking shoes.
I was a banshee child of 4 years old I think: mangled curly brown hair, chubby cheeks, dirty nails from playing in the dirt, wildly curious dark brown eyes, a love for creepy crawlies and yes, bare feet That was a very realistic mental picture of me everyday. I loved to be outside: in the top of a tree, digging in the dirt, playing in the "forbidden" creek or whatever I wasn't supposed to be doing as the prim and proper only baby girl in the house. I knew of no Texas heat too hot for outside play and I did not know time, out at sunrise and in at sunset that was all I needed to know.
This day was a little different from the usual, we had visitors. We lived in a Spanish style home with red clay tiles on the roof which were notorious for leaks. So once again, we had the roofers out to find and repair the roof leak for what seemed as the billionth time. I was getting very familiar with them as I was very curious child, constantly underfoot, not malicious but, always wanting to "help". On this day, one of the men, Javier was particularly patient and kind. I think he actually was voted to "take one for the team" and occupy me for a bit. He sat on the edge of the roof and talked with me in our broken languages. I am sure I asked him every question there was to ask and he politely answered what he could and a little while later, he was summoned away back to work.
As I continued to play in the area I was jumping from the grass to the driveway, grass to drive back and forth probably humming some tune and deep away in the thoughts in my head when I realized that every time I jumped on the driveway I was now making a "clink" sound...grass, clink, grass, clink...I thought it was kind of neat until I looked down to see what the clink was....I can remember, I didn't feel a thing until... I saw that with the last clink a nail popped through the top of my foot!
Okay, so I see the nail, I am only 4 and I know it's bad but...I am SUPPOSED TO HAVE SHOES ON! That was the last thing I was told before I left the house... what am I going to do?
Excuse me, Uhm, Javier? Javier, are you still up there? I said a bit louder with only a tinge of tremble in my voice I called calmly, never shedding a tear. Yes, miss what do you need? Could you come here please? He replied that he would find me later, right now they were very busy. Well, I need help. He replied, I can help you later. But, I need help now...I am supposed to have shoes on and I am going to be in big trouble, I stepped on a nail. He laughed a little, mainly because I think he was only half listening and half because he was thinking I was trying to trick him down to play with me. That was until I lifted my foot so he could see that I had a nail clear through the middle of it, I think he flew down the ladder to help me.
Everything turned out okay, I am not lame and I did learn a lesson but... not really until years later. When people advise, warn or share with us opinions about things that are good or bad for us it's not necessarily that they think we will surely fail or "step on a nail"....its the possibility of pain or danger.
My parents wanted me to wear shoes not because they didn't like that I loved to be bare foot and free, it was to protect my feet. Kind of like God asking us to do things, it is not because He is fearful that we will fail, he knows we need to have failure to know success. It is to protect his children from the things we can not know are there.
You know what my Dad said first when he came home to take care of me? Cyndi, I knew it, I knew you were going to step on one of those roofing nails that is why you were supposed to be wearing shoes! He was my own personal Daddy Doctor fixing all my physical mistakes and as a "rough banshee child" there were a lot of them. Second...He bought me sandals so I could almost be barefoot but, still have protection.
God wants to do that for us on the inside. Bind up our broken heart, stitch up our mistakes and heal us so we can do more than we ever knew we could.
See, just like the bad stuff out there, like the nail...there are great and wonderful things for us that aren't even in our wildest imagination. So be sure to wear your sandals, forge out where you have to and let God open up a whole new perspective for you one nail at a time.
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