Rocks In Your Shoe
Rocks In Your Shoe
I tend to relate and remember better if I have a mental image – a visual example. A mental image really helps me better grasp the truth, but also acts as a memory shortcut. Jesus understood that well and often used parables to teach truth. He set an incredible teaching example for us even today. And those parables, those mental pictures are still effective almost two thousand years later.
Okay, since I love visual examples and parables, it’s no surprise that I also love old sayings. I think of them as mini parables, shortcut lessons aimed at a bigger truth. My Mom, having lived through the Great Depression and World War II, certainly blessed me with the wisdom of many of those sayings.
I’m sure you’ve heard your share of them as well. How about these? “A watched pot never boils.” “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “The early bird catches the worm.” And these are just a few!
But the saying that has meant the most to me was the one Mom shared with me later in her life. She said, “It’s not the mountain that wears you down; it’s the rocks in your shoe.”
What does that mean? Well, obviously, mountains are much bigger than rocks in your shoes. So, why would little rocks wear you down more than a mountain? Have you ever had a rock in your shoe? It really hurts! You can’t keep on going until you take off your shoe and shake out the rock(s). Trying to keep going will injure your foot and stop you from going any farther.
So how do we deal with those rocks in our shoes? 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (NIV) Some translations say cast all your “cares”. That anxiety, those cares are the rocks in your shoes. (A perfect mental image!) So, casting all your cares means casting those rocks, literally throwing them far away from you! Reject/eject those thoughts, those doubts and concerns so you can keep going, ready to face mountains and even climb them with God’s help. “Let go and let God!”
In Chris Tiegreen’s The One Year Experiencing God’s Presence Devotional, he warns us that the overwhelming needs of each day and the what-ifs can drain us of our strength. “Obsession with details takes our minds off the big picture and we lose hope. But, if we keep Christ as our focus, we overcome. It’s as simple as that. The only way to finish the race is to keep our eyes on the One who won it.”
And we all want to finish the race and finish well! “Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)
Remember, “It’s not the mountain that wears you down; it’s the rocks in your shoe.”
These are your Words for Wednesday.
With love to you all,
Your sister Mikal
I tend to relate and remember better if I have a mental image – a visual example. A mental image really helps me better grasp the truth, but also acts as a memory shortcut. Jesus understood that well and often used parables to teach truth. He set an incredible teaching example for us even today. And those parables, those mental pictures are still effective almost two thousand years later.
Okay, since I love visual examples and parables, it’s no surprise that I also love old sayings. I think of them as mini parables, shortcut lessons aimed at a bigger truth. My Mom, having lived through the Great Depression and World War II, certainly blessed me with the wisdom of many of those sayings.
I’m sure you’ve heard your share of them as well. How about these? “A watched pot never boils.” “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “The early bird catches the worm.” And these are just a few!
But the saying that has meant the most to me was the one Mom shared with me later in her life. She said, “It’s not the mountain that wears you down; it’s the rocks in your shoe.”
What does that mean? Well, obviously, mountains are much bigger than rocks in your shoes. So, why would little rocks wear you down more than a mountain? Have you ever had a rock in your shoe? It really hurts! You can’t keep on going until you take off your shoe and shake out the rock(s). Trying to keep going will injure your foot and stop you from going any farther.
So how do we deal with those rocks in our shoes? 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (NIV) Some translations say cast all your “cares”. That anxiety, those cares are the rocks in your shoes. (A perfect mental image!) So, casting all your cares means casting those rocks, literally throwing them far away from you! Reject/eject those thoughts, those doubts and concerns so you can keep going, ready to face mountains and even climb them with God’s help. “Let go and let God!”
In Chris Tiegreen’s The One Year Experiencing God’s Presence Devotional, he warns us that the overwhelming needs of each day and the what-ifs can drain us of our strength. “Obsession with details takes our minds off the big picture and we lose hope. But, if we keep Christ as our focus, we overcome. It’s as simple as that. The only way to finish the race is to keep our eyes on the One who won it.”
And we all want to finish the race and finish well! “Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)
Remember, “It’s not the mountain that wears you down; it’s the rocks in your shoe.”
These are your Words for Wednesday.
With love to you all,
Your sister Mikal
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