As the school bus pulled away, I hustled to finish a few tasks before running out the door. I had a full day of errands and I didn’t want to be late. I grabbed my keys from the counter and slipped on my shoes.
A few minutes later I pulled into the drive-through lane at the bank. When I reached down to grab my purse, a small wave of panic swept over me. Oh great. In my rush to get out the door, I had put on two different shoes. Too late to return home, I figured I may as well continue about my day. Maybe no one will notice.
At first it wasn’t a problem. I easily hid my secret from the drive-through teller. I knew she couldn’t see my feet. However, my next stop would be trickier to conceal. I needed to buy a baby gift for a friend, so I headed to the mall.
Realistically, I knew people at the mall didn’t notice (or even care) about my predicament. But in my mind, it became so obvious. How could anyone overlook my fashion flub?
On my left foot, a lovely navy blue shoe with a cute little tassel. On the right, a black shoe with a slightly higher heel and gold buckle. My mistake grew more apparent with every step. Those tattle-tale shoes seemed to shout, “HEEL-flat-HEEL-flat-HEEL-flat...” as I walked through the mall. How could no one notice? I felt ridiculous! I purchased the gift and quickly marched, “LOUD-soft-LOUD-soft-LOUD-soft” out of the mall and off to my dentist appointment.
A few minutes later I pulled into the drive-through lane at the bank. When I reached down to grab my purse, a small wave of panic swept over me. Oh great. In my rush to get out the door, I had put on two different shoes. Too late to return home, I figured I may as well continue about my day. Maybe no one will notice.
At first it wasn’t a problem. I easily hid my secret from the drive-through teller. I knew she couldn’t see my feet. However, my next stop would be trickier to conceal. I needed to buy a baby gift for a friend, so I headed to the mall.
Realistically, I knew people at the mall didn’t notice (or even care) about my predicament. But in my mind, it became so obvious. How could anyone overlook my fashion flub?
On my left foot, a lovely navy blue shoe with a cute little tassel. On the right, a black shoe with a slightly higher heel and gold buckle. My mistake grew more apparent with every step. Those tattle-tale shoes seemed to shout, “HEEL-flat-HEEL-flat-HEEL-flat...” as I walked through the mall. How could no one notice? I felt ridiculous! I purchased the gift and quickly marched, “LOUD-soft-LOUD-soft-LOUD-soft” out of the mall and off to my dentist appointment.
I slid into the dentist’s chair and looked down at my feet. This was too obvious. I crossed my ankles, trying to cover one foot over the other. Then the hygienist pushed a button. Ever-so-slowly my chair tilted back. As my head reclined lower, my feet elevated higher.
I noticed the lamp hanging over my head. I imagined the hygienist grabbing that spotlight, turning it toward my feet, and shining it down for all to see my glaring mistake. Enough was enough. Maybe she wouldn’t have noticed, but I wanted out of my mismatched misery. I may as well face it. I messed up. Everybody does, right?
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m wearing two different shoes.” I tried to suppress the heat rising up my cheeks.
The hygienist smiled. “I’ve done that before!”
I felt relieved to share a good laugh over such a silly thing. As she went to work on my teeth, I thought about my day. It sure took a lot of work, trying to hide my feet all day. It reminds me of walking through life, trying to hide our sins from God.
At first, sin seems easy to hide. We go about our days, hoping no one will see our little secret. We might even think we got away with it because we didn’t have immediate consequences. Like at the bank. No one noticed, so it wasn’t a problem.
But God is everywhere and He sees it all. We can’t hide anything from God. Walking through the mall, I was almost obsessed. I knew I had made a mistake and was certain everyone else knew it too. And, like the dentist’s chair that elevated my feet, God can elevate our sin if we refuse to deal with it. It becomes so obvious, everyone will see it. Sooner or later, sin creates mayhem in our lives.
Now here’s the good news. God gives us the opportunity to confess our sins. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us of our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
I took this incident as a gentle reminder to inspect my heart for anything I might need to confess.
And after that morning of mismatched mayhem, my heart isn't the only thing I’ll check. Next time I’ll conduct a careful inspection of my entire wardrobe before heading out the door..
I noticed the lamp hanging over my head. I imagined the hygienist grabbing that spotlight, turning it toward my feet, and shining it down for all to see my glaring mistake. Enough was enough. Maybe she wouldn’t have noticed, but I wanted out of my mismatched misery. I may as well face it. I messed up. Everybody does, right?
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m wearing two different shoes.” I tried to suppress the heat rising up my cheeks.
The hygienist smiled. “I’ve done that before!”
I felt relieved to share a good laugh over such a silly thing. As she went to work on my teeth, I thought about my day. It sure took a lot of work, trying to hide my feet all day. It reminds me of walking through life, trying to hide our sins from God.
At first, sin seems easy to hide. We go about our days, hoping no one will see our little secret. We might even think we got away with it because we didn’t have immediate consequences. Like at the bank. No one noticed, so it wasn’t a problem.
But God is everywhere and He sees it all. We can’t hide anything from God. Walking through the mall, I was almost obsessed. I knew I had made a mistake and was certain everyone else knew it too. And, like the dentist’s chair that elevated my feet, God can elevate our sin if we refuse to deal with it. It becomes so obvious, everyone will see it. Sooner or later, sin creates mayhem in our lives.
Now here’s the good news. God gives us the opportunity to confess our sins. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us of our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
I took this incident as a gentle reminder to inspect my heart for anything I might need to confess.
And after that morning of mismatched mayhem, my heart isn't the only thing I’ll check. Next time I’ll conduct a careful inspection of my entire wardrobe before heading out the door..
