Saving Soles

My church shares worship space with a variety of other congregations, and occasionally we partner on initiatives.  One of our Spanish congregations is collecting shoes for Venezuela.

I first heard about this call for shoes during a week-end of power failures of all sorts, both the electrical grid and the getting humanitarian aid to the desperate and the visionary leading of a country.  I wondered how the shoes would get to the feet that need them.  I wondered if we should be doing more.

I think of my own shoes that still have so much wear in the soles, but may have some worn places in the lining.  I do tend to wear my shoes until they have holes somewhere.  Those are the shoes I love.

But of course, I also have shoes that never quite worked.  Those I can donate.

It's easy to feel paralyzed at the scope of the need in the world.  I like a project like this one:  I can look through my closet to see if I have shoes that others might need more than I do.

If I let myself think about all the things needed by all the souls in the world, I'll become completely overwhelmed.  If I focus on protecting some soles, I'll be able to do a small piece of good.

In a recent Facebook meditation, Dr. Megan Rohrer says, "Jehosheba’s mother had a lot of men killed in order to ensure that she would be on top of the royal ladder. Jehosheba secretly kept Joash alive. This story reminds us that women can be oppressors too. When fixing the whole world feels too overwhelming, remember Jehosheba changed the world by doing the best she could for one person. If you are someone more likely to notice those you couldn’t help than the few you could, consider forgiving yourself this week."

It's a good reminder.