{Compassion} Walk by faith

Photo courtesy Compassion International.

Walk by faith.

A pair of rain boots, sparkly pink flats, two pairs of tennis shoes and some grown-up sandals sit beside our door right now. It usually frustrates me that people can’t put their shoes away in their closets. One day I counted seven pairs of my 6-year-old girl’s shoes sitting there. And I once again nagged her to carry them upstairs.

Then I see this picture from Compassion International.

Those are probably that girl’s only shoes.

She doesn’t have dress shoes, school shoes and tennis shoes to choose from each morning. There aren’t flip flops for summer and boots for winter. And, really, she probably doesn’t know what shoe size she wears because she’ll take whatever somebody gives her, even if they’re already worn down.

She’ll wear them until there are holes in the soles.

She’ll hope a new pair will come. Just like she hopes other basic needs are met as she trusts God to provide day after day, just like he says he will. We do after all walk by faith and not by sight.

Shoes protect.

Shoes guard.

Shoes cushion.

Shoes support.

My daughter certainly considers shoes to be accessories. Sure, we get many as hand-me-downs from my niece or from a yard sale down the street. But I don’t stay up late wondering if my girl’s toes will be protected from the dirt and sun. I know the soles of her feet are guarded and her steps are cushioned. Each step she takes is supported.

Next time I see the pile of shoes that people kick off the moment they walk inside our house, where there are relatively clean floors, I want to remember that not every girl and boy like my two have this protection so readily available.

It’s not just the soles of the kids in Ecuador and Guatemala {and wherever else} that need protecting. It’s their souls too. Yes, shoes protect and guard and cushion, but they also give hope. There is hope these shoes will fit long enough to another pair arrives from someone who cares. There is hope their dreams will make a difference for their communities burdened by poverty. There is hope the next generation of girls will have a choice of what shoes to wear each morning.

When you sponsor a child, you give them hope and sometimes new shoes for just $38 a month.

Our girl in Guatemala and our boy in Ecuador have both written to tell us what they’ve purchased with birthday money we sent. Shoes have made the list. And I’m grateful I can give hope to their souls while protecting their soles.

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September is Compassion International’s Blog Month, which aims to find sponsors for 3,160 children. So far at least 1,583 have sponsors. This is the second post I’ve written as part of this Compassion Bloggers campaign. Here is the first, complete with some of my own childhood pictures. 

I’m also linking up with Beth’s Three Word Wednesday, where she encourages with her transparency today.

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