Category Archives: Things to Do

The Next Step

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Do you have a fitbit? One of those little devices that count how many steps you’ve taken and what you need to make your optimal steps for the day? Or how much you’ve slept and ate and who you should marry? I don’t have one. We did have a “pre-fitbit” step counter once… I think we got it out of a cereal box. You clipped it to your pant leg and you could trick it into adding steps by swinging your leg or frantically waving your arms. It obviously didn’t fulfill its purpose very well.

Funny how we focus on “steps”. Moving forward, moving back, constantly checking where you are and where you should be going. Now, I am a girl who likes to plan. I like to check off my steps and put the x in the boxes. I follow the list and love instructions with bullet points and numbers. I follow the steps. But what if you come to the fork in the road? The edge of the cliff, and you are unsure of your next step? What happens then?

Perhaps it is a big decision. Perhaps a life goal. Perhaps a next stage in life. How do you feel when you are tip-toe with that edge and your next step will determine whether you soar or fall off the cliff? What happens then? The fitbit doesn’t tell you what to do with your steps, it just shows you how many you have taken. You have to set the goal.

We studied John the Baptist at church this week, and I couldn’t help but compare his ministry to a few people I follow on social media. There were “big announcements” posted and “new projects” to be taken on, and I noticed that life seems to be timeless when it comes to the edge-of-the-cliff decisions. Everyone eventually comes to that point where you have to take the next step. Sometimes you celebrate it, sometimes you mourn it, and sometimes it just quietly moves forward.

If you are diligent, you make informed decisions… you pray, study, ask the experts, debate, consult, read… and then? John chose to end his career of “preparing the way” because the Messiah had showed up! He worked himself out of his job. Some people set the stage ahead of time and contract themselves into a plan or timeframe. Then the time ends and you stop. Some of you are vision castors — entrepreneurial types who love the prospect of something new — and your life just becomes an ebb and flow of projects and plans. Some of us peddle backwards, afraid of the unknown and where the path may lead.

I’m learning to be patient. To plant my steps purposefully. But the journey is hard and the path rocky. My footing is not always secure and I seek answers. What now? Which way? Should I wait here while others catch up, or plunge ahead and take the risk of not knowing the path? A wise person once told me: Just take the next step.

Rock On

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They say a diamond is a girl’s best friend. I think that’s true because a diamond is really just a big rock. When I was little, I loved rocks. I still like rocks, actually. Diamonds and otherwise. Have you ever been to one of those touristy-type places that have the gift shops with all the souvenirs? In Canada, it is usually filled with maple syrup and cheesy t-shirts and keychains with red maple leaves plastered all over them. Just beside the “make-a-souvenir-coin” machine (which costs a toonie to produce a copper penny — go figure) is usually a large bin with rocks of various colours and sizes. Sometimes it is filled with highly polished “jewels” and a little velvet pouch, and sometimes it has a more rustic feel, with jagged flint pieces or maybe even fossils. This bin always seemed to be the first place I headed when I was younger.

I’m not sure why, but I was thinking about this, this week, and the whole idea of “rocks”. What was the appeal to me? Why did I love to dig through this bin and search out the most special of samples? (I hardly ever bought any as they were always too expensive for a hunk of earth, but still…) I had a fairly large rock collection when I was younger. Those cool ones from the beach, with stripes of red granite or even man-made chunks of asphalt worn smooth by the lapping waves. Or memories of my kids who searched out the flattest stones to skip across the lake. Nothing like a toddler’s pocket full of pebbles to make a mom giggle. Saggy little butt cheeks. And Heaven forbid, you suggest leaving them on the path! Our minivan probably still has a few pebbles hidden in the drink holders!

The kids may have moved on from sagging pockets, but I still love a good geode and totally embarrassed my kids on a trip awhile back as I donned my safety goggles and hammer to crack open the beauty I had picked out of the bin. I even spent the money on that one. I will openly admit, I am the proud owner of a few rock piles… both inside and outside my house. I’m no geologist, but rocks are pretty cool.

If any of you followed us on our 30 Days of Blessings journey, you will remember the day we targeted Rocks. It was a simple reminder to focus on the strength of God’s character, and yet remember how something so seemingly mundane can be so beautiful. Glittering diamonds from lumps of coal and all that.

Amethyst is one of my favourites!

So, if you are searching for some encouragement today, imagine your younger self crouched over that big bin of colourful rocks. You dig and dig, and examine each one, hoping to find the perfect specimen. That one with just the perfect smoothness, or that hint of colour, or that sparkly spot that may mean gold or some other precious jewel embedded in the rough. When you’ve finally found it, you tuck it away lovingly in your black velvet pouch and pull the drawstrings tight. Your treasure has been found!

Now, imagine the rock is you. A diamond in the rough, waiting to be polished by the Master jewel maker, a treasure to be cherished. Displayed in His vast collection, handpicked from all the others, just because someone saw the potential of gold in your tiniest of cracks. God works like that. Or perhaps you have been worn smooth by the ever constant waves of life and you’ve been chosen, now, to soar across the expanse — simply for the shear joy of seeing you fly! You are a treasure.

Rock on, my fellow boulders, Rock on.

If the Shoe Fits

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It’s only a week back to school and I’ve already heard “Where’s my other shoe?” twelve times already! Can I get an amen from any other moms out there?! Now let me explain: we have a very small entrance to our front door that spills out into our ‘open concept’ kitchen and living room. I do not have a mudroom. I do not have an enclosed porch. There is no room for shelving, no hooks or fancy baskets. I have a few shoe trays and a small closet that homes our collection of winter coats and boots, and a large amount of hockey paraphernalia. I have tried to organize and tidy our shoe collections… but we have six people in our family, and live in Canada, where all four seasons can accumulate into one week, so we have a giant pile of shoes at our front door. And it seems to be growing.

Believe it or not, they are not all my shoes, either! Despite being the prime aged woman, I do not have a large collection of shoes. I have worn the same plastic sandals since April. For every occasion. It’s the rest of my family that has created the pile! Elementary school requires two pairs of shoes per student: one for indoors and one for outside. Then there are flip flops and hand-me-downs, and dress shoes, and athletic shoes that are only for this or that sport, or running, or “the lucky pair” only for games or tournaments, or the ones that still fit but have a giant hole or broken shoe laces. Oh, and then the hubby has a casual dress pair and a fancy dress pair. Plus the hiking sandals, and the green stained ones for cutting the grass. Seriously, we have shoes for cutting the grass.

I also have teenaged sons. Yes. Those of you who have lived this stage know what I am talking about… the stink. The lingering odour of one-too-many-soccer-matches or the accidental slip in the creek that allowed some feisty bacteria to breed a large set of offspring. I could run a level 4 biohazard lab at the World Health Organization headquarters with the contents of those shoes. Those blessed runners rest outside for a day or so before they are allowed to find refuge in the pile.

And so I have been musing. One about how blessed we are for gracious people who share hand-me-downs. Two, about how fortunate we are to live where seasons change and how lucky we are to have multiple pairs of shoes and boots that accommodate the weather. Many suffer for basics, let alone for a set of shoes for “special occasions” (or cutting the grass). My mind has wandered through phrases like “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes” or John the Baptist’s statement about being “unworthy to untie even the laces of Jesus’ sandals”. *Giggle* I even watched some Youtubers trying to recreate Cinderella’s glass slipper run down the stairs. (Technically glass shoes are very hard to run in!)

photo from Disney.fandom.com/wiki

I’ve concluded that shoes may give us a glimpse of our deeper selves. Our “journeys” so to speak. Biblical shoe references speak of ties that bind (pun intended) and of contracts. Athletes claim the shoe can make or break a performance, as do ballerinas who spend hours breaking in their slippers. Cinderella and glass slippers indeed. And you, my friend? Where have your shoes taken you? What journey have you walked through that has made you who you are? Who’s sandals are you not worthy to untie? Are you blessed to have a full closet? Does it inspire you to see others in a new light?

For these reasons, I will remind myself to rejoice as I tidy up the pile at my front door…or yet again…search for the lost shoe that has run off on it’s own under the couch just before we are off to school. And contemplate the day when the pile will be diminished and only my plastic sandals will sit at the door, and then, it will be tidy, but I will be sad.