The Visited Shoes

(This post first appeared in October 2013. I came across it today and wanted to share it with you because I remember these shoes so vividly.)

They were absolutely gorgeous, these shoes sitting on the counter in the store. Their shiny, burgundy leather caught my eye from the very start. They were peep-toe high heels, and once I had tried them on, it was love. There was only one thing I didn't like about them... the price tag. They were more expensive than I was used to paying for shoes, and I couldn't bring myself to buy them. I left them on the shelf and walked out of the store.

For several weeks, I "visited" those shoes.  At least every couple of weeks, usually after payday, I would return to the store.  I might have said I was looking for something else, but I always knew I was looking for those shoes.  I never went to the shoe department first, though. I have always liked to save the best for last.  After I had finished the rest of my shopping, I would go to the shoe department and “visit” the shoes I loved.  Often, I would try them on yet again.  They still looked just as good as they had before, but unfortunately, the price tag remained prohibitive.

My husband urged me to buy them, but I just couldn't justify spending that much money on a pair of shoes, especially when I already have plenty of shoes.  Again, I left them on the shelf and walked out empty-handed.

Then one day, after receiving a bonus at work, I decided I was definitely going to buy those shoes.  This time, I went straight to the shoe department and headed to the shelf where "my" shoes lived.  Only they didn't have my size anymore.  I tried on the size above mine, but it was too big.  I tried on a size below mine, but it was too small. They had my size in the black version, and I tried them on, but they weren't nearly as beautiful as the burgundy ones.  Yet again, I left the store empty-handed, but this time, I was much more disappointed.

After that, I didn’t think about those shoes for months.  In fact, I hadn't visited that store much since the day they didn’t have my size in “my shoes”.  One day, however, we went there again.  I shopped around without finding anything that interested me, and then, as usual, I headed to the shoe department.  I looked around and then passed by the clearance table. 

 I was shocked to see four boxes of the gorgeous burgundy shoes piled up on the clearance table!  None of them were my size.  The largest size in the stack, the one sitting on top, would still be too small for me. I tried them on anyway, not expecting them to come close to fitting.  I was shocked when they fit perfectly!  There is no way that shoe box had the correct size on it, because I knew my foot had not shrunk in a few months.

Then I looked at the sign on the table. Initially, the items on the table were 50% off, but on this day, they were also an additional 25% off.  I walked out of the store carrying my gorgeous shoes after only paying a fraction of what I had expected to pay months before.

Many might argue that all of this is a coincidence, but their arguments would be in vain.  I don't believe that our Lord deals in coincidences.  I do believe that He knows and cares about the desires and hopes of His children, and He seeks to satisfy those desires as much as He can.  If we know how to "give good gifts" to our children, "how much more shall your Father which is heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" (Matthew 7:11.)

No, it wasn’t a coincidence that the shoes, which were obviously not the size on the box but the perfect size for me, were sitting on top of the stack on the sale table.  It was also no coincidence that they were sitting there on the very day we decided to return to that store for the first time in weeks.

Every time I looked down at my beautiful burgundy shoes, I was reminded of just how much my Heavenly Father loves me.   Retelling the story today, I am still reminded that no detail in our lives escapes His notice, His care, or His concern.

 

Psalms 145:16

"Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing."

*Updated because I realized the first paragraph had been left out. fvd