“Just a Worn-Out Pair of Running Shoes”

As I manage an unexpected health diagnosis, I feel that I have become somewhat insignificant, irrelevant, and “virtually non-existent.” These early morning yearnings manifested as this:

I am a Pair of Running Shoes.

Brand new. Fresh smell & feel. 

I help get you through the impossible aches & pains as you begin your journey toward a commitment to work out.

We take it slow by walking…Then progress to jogging…

Then to running…

I make your feet feel comfortable & secure.

We successfully complete 5K (3 mile) walks…then 5K runs.

I help elevate your confidence level to now guide you to ½ marathons (13.1 miles).

Then…eventually a full marathon (26.2 miles).

I am with you through rain, wind, hail or snow…good times & bad.

“Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall…all you have to do is call (or put me on) and I’ll be there…yes I will…you’ve got a friend.”

Then…there is a small crack in my right sole. A dog drags my left shoe around in his mouth.

Although I try, I now have imperfections that I cannot control or correct.

You look at me affectionately, but begin to leave me in the closet.

You then acquire a new pair. Fresh, young, more agile than me.

You reminisce about the great times we have had together. You tell me how much I have meant to you and how far I have gotten you.

You compassionately express gratitude for our relationship.

And then…you leave me in the closet frequently…pushing me further and further toward the back…

Eventually…You retrieve me and gently place me on top of the trash can…to be disposed of….no longer of any use…

After all I have done for you, everything I have sacrificed for you…

I have become to you…

Just a Worn-Out Pair of Running Shoes…

If we maintain our obedience & commitment to the Lord, we all can conclude our journey, not as a pair of worn-out, disposed of running shoes, but as the apostle Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NKJV) when he said, “6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”