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WHAT CAN BE WORSE THAN A STONE IN YOUR SHOE?

WHAT CAN BE WORSE THAN A STONE IN YOUR SHOE?

Greetings to all those who worship with us as a part of the Body of Christ we call Heritage Fellowship.

I ask myself a question this morning:

WHAT CAN BE WORSE THAN A STONE IN YOUR SHOE?

 

You know, it probably would not be a bad idea to have someone at the door after each service assigned to the important task of putting a stone in the shoe of each worshipper. Not that I could get anyone to volunteer for such a glamorous position; but wait, what would this humble job require? It would be a reminder to encourage people to put a stone in someone else’s shoe during the coming week. I have lived in places and even walked beaches where a stone can easily get in your shoe. Sand is one thing, but a stone is a totally different irritation. You can wash sand away, but it is more difficult to wash a stone away.

The stone I am speaking of is not for irritation, but to remind you to do something nice for someone. I was eating lunch with one of our church families recently and noticed that she had drawn a star-shaped figure on her hand with an ink pen. I asked her jokingly, “Do you have a tattoo on the back of your hand?” She was embarrassed I had noticed and told me it was to remind her of something she needed to buy at the grocery store. We laughed because we realized it was a senior moment. Just as she had scribbled with ink on the back of her hand to remind her of something she needed to do, I would have them put a rock in your shoe only as a reminder of our need, as well. Our need is to do something that people are surprised by; which is so out of the ordinary, that they can’t forget it.

Late one evening, a young woman was talking about what she was doing as she was going through the checkout lane at the local Walmart. She had a few household things in her basket; but when she got to the cashier, it was a struggle for her to come up with the money she needed to purchase the items she had gathered. She was moving into the dorms at Northern Kentucky University and had just arrived that week. A man, who was standing in line behind her, had listened to her talking to others about how difficult it was to leave home move to a new city, and her fears and reservations. She was shocked at what he did next; because he put a rock in her shoe. You say, “How did he do that?” He reached over and paid her bill. She asked him, “Why did you do that for me?” He said, “I have a granddaughter in her first year in college, and she is living on campus. I would want someone to do that for her if she were in this situation.” What do I mean by: he put a rock in her shoe? He did something for her that she would have a difficult time forgetting. The only way to get rid of the rock in your shoe is to put that rock in someone else’s shoe. You pass on your kindness to others.

A man was struggling to put gas in his car, another motorist who had stopped for a gas saw the struggle. What he did will give you an idea of what I am talking about. He walked over to the man and started a conversation with him. He then said, “I see you are having a hard time with this gas hose. Do you mind if I help you?” He complied and told the man that came to help that he had arthritis in all his knuckles and they had given him artificial knuckles. Not only did he help him pump his gas, he paid for the full tank, and gave the man a hundred dollar bill, to boot. You may ask, “Why did he do that?” He put a rock in his shoe. It turned out the man with artificial knuckles was a preacher who needed a blessing like that. It was not an angel, but a lover of Jesus who was in the right place at the right time. I would say he was a man who was like the Lord in that, “He went about doing good.”

I believe in you; and may I have the pleasure of putting a rock in your shoe today? Only God knows the result of one rock in the right shoe.

Yours for Souls.

Cleddie Keith

 

 

Pastor Cleddie and GayNell

Thank you for putting rocks in my shoes by your gifts to the work we are all a part of, by
lifting up Jesus at home and abroad.

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