The Compassion writing assignment for this last week was to select 1 of 4 pictures given and write. Write whatever is impressed upon your heart through one of the four pictures provided.
I selected this photo.....
It resonates with me because I have a child in need of new shoes. It resonates with me because I have witnessed first hand shoes like these in several countries around the world. It resonates with me because I sponsor a child in Kenya and often wonder about his shoes. It resonates with me because of what God taught me 11 years ago.
I don't know if these are boy feet or girl feet. It doesn't really matter. What I do know is they need shoes that fit. Shoes that have laces. Shoes that have less wear. Shoes that keep his/her soles separate from the soil on which they walk.
I wonder where these shoes have been. I am sure they have seen sights my eyes will never see. I am sure they have trampled through stench that is beyond wretched. I wonder how many owner's have slipped their feet into these shoes. I wonder if these shoes were a gift, a found treasure, a hand me down, or even stolen.
I wonder if the feet that inhabit these shoes are filled with light. I wonder if light has come to the soul whose tiny feet inhabit these shoes. I wonder if these are the shoes of our sponsor child.
Isaiah 52:7 "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the new that the God of Israel reigns".
I look at these shoes and think back over the nine years we have supported a child in Kenya through Compassion International. I look at these shoes and think about my children and where their feet will take them. I look at these shoes and I remember the following journal entry from my summer spent in South East Asia.....
"I am asking that as water fills the sea, that this land would be filled with an awareness of the Glory of Daddy (Habakkuk 2:14). This week my feet have trampled many new roads, paved and unpaved alike. I have stepped through dirt, water, mud, food, open sewer and much much more, but the thing that I have come to rejoice in is the fact that BEAUTIFUL are the feet that bring good news. I encourage you to go beyond your boundaries this week. Reach out into the wretched smelling places. Allow the Father to take you down paths that are not comfortable and alleys that you never dreamed of. I am confident that with each new street we venture down LIGHT is flooded even to the smallest places that are filled with darkness."
Even though our children's shoes may never look this worn.....we support a child who may wear shoes this worn. Even though our children's shoes may never look this worn.....we desire they serve a world whose shoes may be this worn.
The child we support through Compassion International is just one way that we as a family serve a world much different from our own. The child we support through Compassion International is just one way that we as a family shed LIGHT to the darkest corners of the world.
We pray that our children's feet would venture down streets and flood them with LIGHT. We pray that our sponsored child's feet would venture down streets and flood them with LIGHT. Their shoes may be very different but our prayers for them are the same.
You have an opportunity to support and pray for shoes that trample down roads you will probably never physically see in your lifetime. Please visit the link below to find out more on how you can become involved with Compassion International and support a child whose shoes may look much different from yours.
http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=133453
And as always....if you have any questions.....shoot me an email. I'd be more than happy to answer.
Compassion Blog Month Week 1 // What I would say to my childhood self
Compassion Blog Month Week 2 // Wrestle
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