One Day Without Shoes

A day without shoes. That's the challenge. Stepping out of your comfort zone for one day to bring awareness to the millions around the world that aren't able to afford wearing shoes on a daily basis. I see it all the time here. Driving down the road I see countless people walking with nothing on their feet. I was walking home from work a couple weeks ago and I saw a man working construction with no shoes on. His coworkers had flip flops on. A construction worker with no shoes? This should not be; but it is. It is a reality to so many people around the world. A reality I witness daily. When you go out of the city a little into the villages most people aren't wearing shoes. If they are they are tattered and torn and normally a form of sandals. This, however, is better than nothing. Its better than all the children who swarm around you in frayed clothing with nothing on their feet.

Although in poorer communities shoes can be considered a luxury, they are and should be essential. Shoes not only protect you from having sore feet, but they protect you from countless diseases. In the villages here there is a worm that can burrow into the skin on the bottom of you feet, crawl up your leg, and give you elephantiasis. It is disturbing to think about, but it is a reality that so many have to live with on a consistent basis.

Think about how much we take this "luxury" for granted. I know I am the biggest culprit of all. I came to Africa with a box full of shoes. A box- full. Why do I need that many shoes? Why did I need to spend that much money on shoes that I wear maybe once a month. And the sad thing- I have at least as many shoes at home. There are people going to work construction with no shoes, and I have more pairs than I know what to do with. And the worst part about it? I took it all for granted. Until I came here I always heard about the little kids who could not afford shoes, but I never saw it first hand. I never really thought about it. I am not saying by any means that if you have a lot of shoes you are a bad person, I am just saying don't take that for granted. Think about all the little luxuries that you and I have that so many others don't. Shoes. Food. Clean water. Running water. Electricity. A flushing toilet. Being here has taught me that so many things that I thought of as commonplace are a luxury to so many people in this world. And I took all of it for granted.

So yesterday was 'one day without shoes' day. I tried my best to go without shoes, but I do work in a health care facility, so due to sanitation reasons I couldn't go to work without shoes. A good friend and I did however paint our feet in support of the day. In honor of the day, I didn't wear shoes on our daily run. Let me tell you, running four miles barefoot through the African rains is an amazing experience. I woke up this morning with blisters on my toes, and I thought to myself- this is nothing, people do this daily. They have to deal with this day in and day out. Every time I took a step I thought about those that don't get to wear shoes, those that feel like this all the time. But the more and more that I thought about this, the more I realized I was wrong. Those that walk barefoot every day don't feel the pain I am feeling. This, too, is a privilege that I have. My feet don't have callouses a centimeter thick from walking around on them day in and day out. My feet are able to feel pain. My feet are able to feel the contours of a rock and the different feels of the tarmac that cuts through campus. My feet are able to get blisters from running barefoot. I have not walked around without shoes on since birth. My feet are soft. Even the pain of blisters on your feet is a privilege that not everyone gets to face. Realizing this was yet another amazingly humbling experience that I have had in Malawi. I am so privileged to have the life that I had, and the awful thing is that I didn't even realize it.

Don't take what God has so graciously given you for granted. Even the "little things" in life are so often big things to so many people. Regardless of how awful our life may seem at the moment, we all have things to be thankful for. We all have been given more than we even realize. Let's open our eyes and thank God for what we see. I know I will be. Will you?


Wealth and honor come from You;
You are the ruler of all things.
In Your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give You thanks,
and praise Your glorious name.
- 1 Chronicles 29:12-13