I felt blisters form on my feet after the first half mile into the fitness hike at Training Camp but there was no time to stop. So I hiked.
Shortly after I was gifted a few bandaids to protect my raw skin from the straps of my chacos. If the shoes weren’t so expensive and if I hadn’t been gifted them from my aunt, I would have considered finding a new shoe for the race. But instead I took care of my blisters and let calluses form where they needed.
Our beloved friend and handy translator here in Albania was talking about someone he knew that was a… “shoe mechanic”. I laughed at his fun choice of words but was sad to explained to him that not many people in America repair their shoes anymore, we just throw them away and buy new ones.
We live in a wasteful society.
This isn’t a new thought or realization. We’re typically just wasteful because we have the resources to afford it and it’s less work that way.
I’ve definitely bought new clothes with a closet full at home. And shoes.. I’ve had more shoes tucked away and forgotten about than I would like to admit.
But what about how wasteful we are when it comes to relationships?
We tend to toss aside people like we toss aside shoes that rub us the wrong way.
I had worn my chacos for a few months and they had never given me blisters. One hot afternoon hike in the Georgia summer and I considered tossing them. What made me keep them? Their value and the thought of everything already invested in them (mainly the finances). After a solid week, my feet adjusted back to feeling the straps of my chacos and now, they are some of the most comfortable shoes I own.
I think where we fail relationally is when we forget to look at what is already invested and we stop seeing the value in other people.
In reality, we are all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and we’re told in Romans 12:10 to love one another with brotherly affection and outdo one another in showing honor.
Could you imagine a life where we worked towards building each other up instead of climbing on top of them to try and glorify ourselves? If we saw each other as the beloved child of God they truly are? If we were willing to push past the discomfort and invest a little more effort into those that aren’t always easy to love?
We have some rougher boys that come to the youth center and meet us in the mornings to play basketball. But what would happen if we started to push them away instead of welcoming them in because sometimes they act like hooligans?
It’s about being His light in the dark places and choosing to love like Jesus even when it’s not easy. It’s about keeping your investment through the blisters and remembering the value in things we tend to take for granted.
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
Luke 6:35 ESV
