It has only been this year that I succumbed to the footwear of one who lives in the tropics and donned my feet with trusty flip-flops. They are known as the professional shoe of the equator and are a comfort to wear in both the hot and wet weather conditions. However, it seems that all my recent events seem to revolve around these rubbery soles. They could, in part, be blamed as the cause of all my woes over the last couple of months. So why has this seemingly innocent footwear become the bane of my existence? Well the reality is everything about my foot injury ironical comes back to flip-flops!
Firstly, on that ill-fated day back in January, I wasn’t just driving around on my merry way purposeless, no, I was driving to the markets to buy flip flops! I was happily doing a favour for a friend who requested some shoes for the groomsmen for her upcoming wedding and had been travelling to a from the markets a couple of times now, taking photos of different pairs and reporting back to my friend so that the most suitable ones could be purchased. I had nicknamed the mission “Operation Flip Flops” without even realizing that this quest would result in an actual operation.
Addition, on my feet that day I was wearing flip-flops! Most people don’t give a second thought to the dangers of driving around in flimsy footwear and sadly I also didn’t consider it. Under the car’s tire my right flip-flop was ripped in two, causing my big toe and the ball of my foot a nasty meeting with the road. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t consider the possibility of my foot injury being less painful by my wearing of some enclosed shoes, though maybe the thought of steal cap boots maybe going a tad overboard.
For 7 ½ weeks I was left to wear my remaining left flip flop! At times it was a challenge, while on crutches, hopping my left foot in and out of my remaining shoe. Shoes are always left at the door so the dirt and grim of the streets will not be carried into the house. My sole flip-flop is living near my front door now, useless and purposeless without its companion. I just don’t have the heart to throw it out. Any suggestions?
Now that I am starting to walk again the only shoes I can wear are, of course, flip-flops! The wound to my toe does not enjoy the rub of any materials and my still swollen foot needs breathing space rather than feeling constricted and enclosed. So my dear friend Thida was off to the markets (again) to pick up flip-flops that I can wear while recovering. The irony is (because of my big feet) I am wearing the same ones that I was attempting to buy that day over 2 months ago. Oh irony, how you laugh at me.
I will never look at this type of shoe the same way again and am longing to wear some cute ballet flats or something far prettier on my precious footsies. One of my students commented that my foot looks like a boy’s foot, haha didn’t that make me feel pretty. Thankfully my doctor says that with some physio and more rest it should return to normal-ish, though it will still bear the marks that come from the risks of living here.
I’ve come to appreciate my feet so much since one of them has been battered and broken. It reminds me of how beautiful are the feet of those serving for the sake of the gospel. All of us, who are in Christ, have been blessed with some precious tootsies that help us journey through life, interact and impact multiple lives with the precious news of the gospel of Jesus. I am reminded of the verses from Romans 10:13-15
‘For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”’
So I challenge you, next time when you are slipping your feet into your favourite pair of flip-flops, or any shoes really, say a prayer to God asking Him to direct and guide your precious feet this day so that you may carry the gospel out into a needy world.
