There’s just something about sparkly pink shoes that attracts young girls. Young boys, too, as it turns out. That is, toddler boys. Specifically, Timmy.
Two days ago, our family attended a child’s birthday party. There was a giant water slide in the back yard as well as a couple of pools of varying sizes. Naturally, all the kids left their shoes clustered around the entrances to the various attractions.
Timmy must have thought he was in heaven. He loves to put on people’s shoes and walk around in them. He’s got great balance for a kid his age, and he can walk fairly easily without stumbling even in shoes that are way too big for him.
This time, Timmy’s shoes of choice were some sparkly pink Hello Kitty clogs that belonged to our neighbor girl. It was fortunate that we knew her well, because every time we turned around, Timmy was toddling off someplace in her shoes. A couple times, we tried to take them away from him and put them where he wouldn’t notice, but he always found them again. And, since we knew the shoes’ owner wouldn’t mind, we eventually gave up trying to get him to leave them alone.
At Timmy’s current age—about 17.5 months—it’s fine for him to toddle around in sparkly pink girlie shoes if he wants to. It doesn’t really matter that those clogs weren’t made for little boys, or that Hello Kitty isn’t designed for little boys either. It’s fine for him to enjoy these things now because after all, he’s young. All he knows is that the shoes are pretty. He doesn’t know they’re not really made for him—that is, for a boy.
You and I sometimes get attracted to things that aren’t made for us, either. Something looks pretty, sparkly, and pink to us, despite that fact that it’s not ours and isn’t supposed to be. Perhaps we’re pursuing the wrong ministry at church. Perhaps we’re staying home when we should be working, or working when we should be staying home. Maybe we’re pursuing a person we were never meant to have a relationship with.
Whatever the pink, sparkly thing in our lives, it might not be meant to be ours. How can we tell for sure? We ask the only One who knows for sure, that is, God Himself. He knows exactly which pretty things are meant to be ours, and which are off-limits to us.
Our mistake isn’t in liking pink, sparkly things. We’re made that way. The mistake comes in pursuing something we were never meant to have.
Is there something in your life right now that you’re pursuing because it looks great to you, but which you were never meant to have? Maybe there’s that nagging doubt—otherwise known as the still, small voice—in the back of your mind that whispers, This isn’t for you. Maybe others have told you it isn’t for you. Maybe you know good and well it was never meant to be yours, but you pursued and obtained it anyway.
There’s one way to make things right, and it starts with going before God and asking Him to reveal to you anything you’ve been pursuing which He doesn’t want you to have. Believe me, He will be more than willing to tell you. And once he does, you have to give it up, and maybe even repent of some sin in your life.
It probably won’t be easy to give something up. Giving up attractive things usually isn’t easy. But it will be so much better for you to have the right pair of shoes even than it would be to have a pair of pretty, pink, sparkly shoes that were never meant to be yours.
Do you need to relinquish any shoes today?
Ecclesiastes 3:6—A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. (KJV)