They were waiting for me, at the end of the aisle, calling me over.
Perfect height: 2” heel, easy on the plantar fasciitis, sexy on the calf.
Perfect fabric: suede, softer than a dachshund’s ear.
Perfect color: the delectable blue of the sky before the stars come out, a color that complements every shade of tan or cream I have ever or will ever own.
White stitched edges for class and a shapely chrome buckle for excitement.
Although I didn’t know it until I laid eyes on them, these Prada pumps were everything I had ever dreamed of in a shoe. In my size. In stock. God Himself had probably created them before He rested.
I hadn’t bought Prada shoes before, but I know people who have. Those people always have the right handbag, the right coat, the right shoes. Shouldn’t I be one of those people, too? Didn’t I owe it to the world to be my best self?
Beautiful shoes…in a box
Many, many miles on my Delta Amex card later, the shoes were mine. I then caught a severe case of shoe nervousness.
I am nervous about wearing my perfect shoes when I take the subway, because the suede will wear off the backs when I hike up and down the stairs.
I am nervous about wearing my perfect shoes when it might rain. Or snow. Or it has already rained or snowed.
I am nervous about wearing my perfect shoes when I’m going out, because someone might drop her pig-in-the-blanket and leave a grease mark on my shoes.
I teach writing to design students. As a class exercise, one student describes a household item while the other students sketch it, sight unseen. I thought of bringing in my precious Pradas, but it made me nervous: What if the students couldn’t resist touching the shoes, the way I couldn’t resist buying them?
These shoes are simply gorgeous, but there is nothing simple about owning them. They sit in my closet, inside a brown Prada shoe bags, in a blue Prada box, in a special corner, where I see them and worry.
But I don’t wear them. Ever.
Let’s celebrate and share beauty
There is nothing wrong with having beautiful objects in our lives, well made, long lasting, and designed to celebrate the creative process. God made us to behold beauty and create it.
But Satan wants us running after the things of this world instead of running after God. The evil one is thrilled when we hold onto beautiful items so tightly that we never use them. The gorgeous dishes in the sideboard, the fabulous necklaces in the jewelry box, the beautiful shoes in the closet—hiding them leads us to buy more and more and more. Those dishes need to be on our tables, those necklaces around our necklines, and those shoes on our feet.
Generosity includes generously sharing the beautiful possessions we already have with our world, starting with ourselves. Let’s get those shoes out and put them on.
Race you to the subway!
