Our night of discouragement

will seem endless and

our task impossible, unless

we recognize that He stands

in our midst.”

—Joni Eareckson Tada—

by Debbie Allen

The sound of a flat-faced hammer striking a metal awl echoed in the silence of the night. The Shoemaker labored long and hard over another of his precious soles.  His leathery hand reached for a bottle of blackening, on a nearby shelf.  Brushing the final touches onto his creation, he stooped to place a splendid pair of black, riding boots into a cardboard box.

“Ah, yes…another perfect fit!”  the Shoemaker uttered softly.  “I have already prepared a place for you!”  he continued, speaking in a tone much like a father to a little child. 

With that, the Shoemaker walked out into the city to the place he’d chosen for his latest creation.  Carefully, he set the box down in the Foothills surrounding the city of Mass-a-shoe-sets. Were it not for the works of the Shoemaker’s hands, the city would not even exist. Pulling his hands away from the box, the Shoemaker turned to address all the shoes living there.

“I must go away for a time,” he said. “But you… all of you, must remain here until I return. You will be safe and secure within the boxes which I have provided you, until my return,” he reminded them.  With that, he turned to go.

When the Shoemaker first left, the shoes missed the sound of his steps, walking along the banks of the swiftly running, Nike River. Often, the Shoemaker retreated here with his needle and thread; mending torn and tattered soles that washed up on the banks. He took great pleasure restoring and walking among his many creations.  The shoes, too, found solace in the sounds of his voice, and relished time spent in his gentle presence.

But… as time passed, the shoes forgot the sound of the Shoemaker’s voice. They grew discontent with their confined living arrangements.  No longer were they satisfied in the safety of their boxes; flip-tops and loose-lids alike. From the glistening Patents to the bolder Buckskins, shoes flipped their lids and fell to the streets below from the high places that the Shoemaker himself had chosen for them.  For the first time ever, Mass-a-shoe-sets met with chaos. Wads and wads of loose paper from their boxes, lay scattered on every turn; bringing the city grime rate to an all-time high.  Their newly, chosen lifestyles severely, affected the family unit.  Separation rates climbed steadily, leaving little Keds unattended all over city streets.   Mis-mates and Singles dominated the scene more and more.  Nikes ran around with Reeboks; lefts running with lefts, and rights with rights. Vans cruised recklessly in wrong directions all along Saucony Blvd. Riotous, gangs of Doc Martins marched around and around Converse Cul-de-sac; protesting in favor of the LTWAMTB (Less Than We Are Meant To Be) Organization! It wasn’t long before the entire economy plummeted and chaos reigned on every street corner!

Soon, tongues began to wag and the High-Tops who’d lived in the city for many years, spoke out.

 “Sole Mates! I fear the worst! We’ve become lost soles in our own beloved city. Order must be restored and a new leader chosen!”

“The Joggers are prime candidates for the position!” cried the Flip-Flops.

The High-Tops strongly disagreed with them answering, “The Joggers have a long-time reputation for running away from their problems.”

 “Then…how about the Cross Trainers?” cried the Moccasins, sneaking in.

Tapping their toes in deep thought, the eldest High-Top finally stepped in replying, “I’m afraid the Cross Trainers are much too angry to deal in a personable manner with a fellow sole mate. But, perhaps the Hikers?”

At this point, a group of left-sided Hi-Tops, determined to be right, stomped over to say, “The Hikers are a rugged, determined group who set high goals for themselves; but we fear that their ‘climb-to-the-top-at-all-cost’ way of life might later step on some toes.”

With every eyelet squinted in frustration, the eldest High-Top cried out angrily, “Our laces are tied in this matter, then! We, the eldest High-Tops, will decide!  We choose a pair who stands tallest among us, and who’s reputation shines beyond us all. These outstanding creations are equipped with the greatest of insoles and are highly capable of leading us the farthest towards reaching the goals we’ve set for ourselves. So… I present to you, Mass-a-shoe-sets’ own newest couple…the Riding Boots!”

Soon after this announcement, a great light flooded the Foothills of Mass-a-shoe-sets. No eyelet could withstand its brilliance; for the shoes had grown accustomed to wandering about in the darkness. Still puzzling over the light, a great shadow then fell across the entire length of the city. 

“The Shoemaker has returned!” the shoes gasped simultaneously. 

Suddenly, feeling scuffed and dirty, the Joggers wanted to run away, the Hikers wanted to climb out of sight, and the High-Tops found themselves tongue-tied for the first time ever!

Wearing the saddest expression, any shoe had ever seen on his face, the Shoemaker stood there shaking his head.  Fully expecting him to toss them all aside like old shoes, they scattered in fear.  But to their amazement, instead of getting the punishment they deserved; one by one, the shoes watched as the Shoemaker wiped all their dirt and scuffs clean; then showed each lost sole the way home. The Shoemaker’s touch seemed gentle enough; but, the tone of his voice carried a stern reminder of what they’d forgotten in his absence.

“I have inscribed my name on the heels of your very soles…so that every step you take reflects the one who made you. Walk wisely and reflect rightly, little shoes… ‘because’ your soles are mine.”

Wielding his hammer and awl over the Foothills of Mass-a-shoe-sets, a thunderous clash emerged as the Shoemaker set to work transforming all of their chaos and destruction back into his beauty and order. The intense sounds of an immense whirlwind picking up debris as it moved through the city streets; set every box on edge! As the Shoemaker lowered his hammer and awl down by his side, a deafening silence enveloped the Foothills. Peeking out from under their box lids, every shoe gasped at what they saw. Almost as if their eyelets had been unveiled, they were now able to see the great heights from which they’d fallen! Having captured every shoe’s undivided attention; the Shoemaker spoke to them one last time, before returning to his workbench.

 “Remember me!” he emphasized to every silent sole. “For I am, and always will be ‘your’ Shoemaker…the maker, the restorer, and the keeper of all your soles!”

PRAYER: Dearest Heavenly Father…I see the ‘Parable of the Lost Soles’ playing out inside the headlines of our own day, over and over again. We are a people growing more and more dissatisfied with living in the boundaries You have set for our lives; to keep us safe from this world’s evil. You have given us your word that You will be returning; and that we are to, “keep watch,” (Matt. 24:42) because we do not know what day or time that will be. Yet, much like the ‘discontented shoes’ in the parable; in Your absence, we’ve forgotten the Sounds of Your Voice. We, too, have ‘flipped our lids’ and chosen to fall from those great and Godly heights You warned us to remain within. The consequences for choosing to listen to our own voices ruling over us, instead of Your Voice, have brought nothing but chaos and devastation to our families, our communities, our nations and this world. As Billy Graham once put it, “We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.”  Because we have forgotten Your Name and Ways, lawmakers make their laws without Truth to guide them, oblivious to Your impending warnings:

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness…” (Isaiah 5:20a NIV).

 Father, forgive us. For we have become our own ‘lost soles’ wandering about in our lives, succumbing to the darkness of our world because we’ve grown accustomed to it.

May it not be so, Father, for those of us who call ourselves, children of God.  Those of us who still hear Your Voice and choose Your Light and Truth to guide us.  Fill our hearts with your courage to face the “lawlessness that will multiply” (Matt.24:12a) in the days ahead; and embolden our faith as we come up against “the love of many that grows cold” (Matt.24:12a) because of it.  We acknowledge You and only You, as The Creator, The Redeemer, and The Keeper of our souls both now and for Eternity.  Your Name is inscribed on our souls; so that Your Character and Your Ways may be reflected into the world around us; with every step we take. For what we truly value…is reflected in the way we walk. 

IN JESUS NAME, Amen.

“So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD.  As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like spring showers that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:3 BSB)