“What are these!” I exclaim excitedly. Walking over to a box on my floor, I see them. Brooks running shoes! But who…. how?
Written on the box are the big words “To Cassi, From God.” Opening the box, I marvel at the beautiful peacock-blue shoes inside. I fall to my knees and start to cry.
For the past 6 weeks I’ve been training for a half marathon. Working my way up in miles, I’ve been growing in confidence and gaining energy to run further. But, my shoes haven’t been good enough to soften my stride. Goodbye happy feet.
My last big run became a major problem. I hurt my arch and I’ve been benched for the last two weeks. It’s been miserable. I can’t allow myself to run again unless I’m prepared. I need good shoes.
I’d gone and tried on some Brooks. I didn’t want to get hurt again. The shoe lady at the store picked them out and I “fell in love.” They’d hit the shelves not even a week ago—top of the line. I knew I couldn’t afford them though. I’m not even sure why I went there. Maybe for hope? Hope that if my foot ever got better that I’d finally jump back into the race—that these shoes could get me to the finish. I could work hard enough to save up in a couple of months—maybe. It’s a big price tag to pay.
This is exactly how I feel with God at times…that if I work hard enough I can make up for my shortcomings. That pain I caused back there—let me pay the price by working extra hard for you. Maybe after awhile I can make it up. Nope!
God’s grace is enough. I need to remind myself of that everyday. In the race I’m running, it’s all because of God’s love and mercy that I can get back up and keep on going. Like those shoes, God will provide a way for me to finish strong. He paid the price so that we don’t have to. Really, because we can’t! This is a race we can’t finish without Him.
