Shoes, we all wear them, don’t we? They protect our feet, don’t they?
I had a conversation with my wife in 2014, when she and our two kids were living in a Central American country. She shared something with me that made me laugh. To appreciate my child’s personality, you need to know mine.
I consider myself a free-spirited person. No, I do not advocate lawlessness and the foolish idea of “do what you want and try to get away with it.” I just don’t like restrictions in my own home when I come back from a hard day’s work. For example, first thing that I do when I get home is TAKE OFF MY SHOES. I feel so restricted, enslaved, because all day long I was in them. My feet become swollen and tired at the end of the day. On my days off, if I am not outside, I am inside barefoot. No socks, no slippers! Bare, unprotected feet. I like the idea of feeling the ground I walk on, provided there are no sharp objects or any dangers.
When barefoot, one must be on a constant watch for hidden dangers, such as tacks, glass, needles, and even the occasional furniture-getting-in-the-way-of-your-pinky toe! That’s where we find the value of shoes. For protection. Since I am usually at home when I am barefoot, I always use the right footwear for the job. In construction, I use steel-toe boots. When it rains, I use waterproof boots or shoes, and so on. You get the idea.
Wisdom is the right use of the knowledge received to avoid foolish mistakes and to prevent dangers.
My wife told me that our two-year-old son is like me in regard to being barefoot. He takes his shoes off and walks on the cold floor to this day. Cold floors feel great on a hot day! But, when he has shoes on, he will use them to kick things and step on things one normally don’t step on when barefoot. Since he was only two years old, he had still much to learn.
One day, while barefoot, he decided to do something he normally does with his shoes on, and that is stepping on hot abandoned coals that fall out of the wood-burning stove.
Needless to say, he burned his foot and found the value of his shoes then. When I heard this from my wife, I did chuckle, and told her, “Well, he won’t be doing that again with his shoes off.” Was I saddened that he got hurt? No. I was glad he did that. That means he’s doing what he’s supposed to do at that age. Explore, engage, learn and use wisdom. He will value his shoes, but above all he will use wisdom to avoid such perils.
He now knows the value of shoes.
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Thanks,
Abraham
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