Soles for Jesus

How enticing it can be to be drawn in to all the colors and styles our culture has to offer us...

... to pamper and protect our little lovies pretty feet.


Until we remember how much of the rest of the world lives...

Do these precious feet not also deserve to be gingerly cared for and covered? Instead, they are exposed to insanitary conditions of their roads & paths. Diseases often spread through open sores on their little feet.

Oh, my heart. Can you imagine being a mommy who is unable to provide such a basic luxury to her beloved child?

How much I take for granted. This weekend, our family had the amazing opportunity to be part of a shoe drive with Soles for Jesus, through our church. All shoes collected are being sent to Ethiopia for children in need. It's an amazing ministry and I encourage everyone to check it out!! Such an easy way to make a difference in the lives of needy children!

It was saddening how quickly we could pile up pairs of shoes that we no longer wore. However, we were grateful to have the opportunity to donate our shoes to such a worthy cause!

On top of that, our pastor encouraged us all to come to church barefoot, remembering those that have no choice every day. We were committed! Our family got excited about this opportunity and the kids thought it was the greatest thing ever. I debated about sending them in socks, for sanitary reasons, but it kinda defeats the purpose. And, my Kylee wouldn't allow it. "No, Mom, I want to go without anything just like the kids that have to every day!" So off we went with pasty white, bare feet.

We weren't necessarily expecting this kind of weather...

... but regardless, we felt pretty certain we could handle such "inconvenience" and "discomfort" for a mere few hours. And, my husband was the real hero, who dropped us off near to the church door, then parked and walked all the way in to church. Kylee insisted on joining him on the way out. She wanted to be as involved in this experience as much as possible. I loved it.

I'm not sure how many shoes were collected yet, but there sure were a lot of them, as well as bare feet walking the halls of our church today.