Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Shoes
In the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we read a story about a young man that is simply called the Prodigal Son. At a fairly early age, this young man was given everything he needed to be successful in life. He had a loving father, access to all his father had, and eventually a share of his father’s estate. Unfortunately for this young man, he decided that the hum-drum work-a-day world was not for him. He chose instead to squander all that he had been given on wild living. As this young man’s resources began to dwindle and the economy took a downturn, he found himself homeless, hungry and in such desperate need that he was longing to eat food usually reserved for pigs.
Like this prodigal son, many men and women today have found themselves in desperate places for a variety of different reasons. Maybe they squandered their resources and potential on wild living. Perhaps it is our current financial downturn that has caused them to be in need. Regardless, the need that they are faced with is very real and often very desperate.
As the prodigal son decided to humbly return to his father, his father provided clean clothes and a meal for his son, and he also put a pair of shoes on his feet. This young man had likely lost or sold the shoes he had which would have caused his journey back home to be difficult and perhaps at times, painful. As the men and women here at Wheeler Mission Ministries get back on their feet, they too struggle at times with pain and difficulty. They too often don’t have some of the basic necessities that we take for granted like food, clothing, shelter and shoes.
We have recently been privileged to be able to partner with Nashville, Tennessee-based Soles4Souls™ and The Finish Line to distribute nearly 10,000 pairs of shoes to the needy of our community and those around the state. On June 1st we began the phase one of handing out shoes and what a blessing it was to see people’s faces light up when they received a brand new pair of shoes!
It is because of organizations like Soles4Souls™ and The Finish Line; as well as our tremendous volunteers and donors that we at Wheeler Mission have had the great pleasure to see many prodigal sons return to their Heavenly Father and begin a walk with Christ that lasts a lifetime.
(Nashville-based Soles4Souls™ facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Soles4Souls has distributed more than 5 million pairs (currently donating one pair every 13 seconds) to people in over 125 countries, including Honduras, Uganda, Romania, and the United States. Visit www.giveshoes.org for more information.)
Rick
Like this prodigal son, many men and women today have found themselves in desperate places for a variety of different reasons. Maybe they squandered their resources and potential on wild living. Perhaps it is our current financial downturn that has caused them to be in need. Regardless, the need that they are faced with is very real and often very desperate.
As the prodigal son decided to humbly return to his father, his father provided clean clothes and a meal for his son, and he also put a pair of shoes on his feet. This young man had likely lost or sold the shoes he had which would have caused his journey back home to be difficult and perhaps at times, painful. As the men and women here at Wheeler Mission Ministries get back on their feet, they too struggle at times with pain and difficulty. They too often don’t have some of the basic necessities that we take for granted like food, clothing, shelter and shoes.
We have recently been privileged to be able to partner with Nashville, Tennessee-based Soles4Souls™ and The Finish Line to distribute nearly 10,000 pairs of shoes to the needy of our community and those around the state. On June 1st we began the phase one of handing out shoes and what a blessing it was to see people’s faces light up when they received a brand new pair of shoes!
It is because of organizations like Soles4Souls™ and The Finish Line; as well as our tremendous volunteers and donors that we at Wheeler Mission have had the great pleasure to see many prodigal sons return to their Heavenly Father and begin a walk with Christ that lasts a lifetime.
(Nashville-based Soles4Souls™ facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Soles4Souls has distributed more than 5 million pairs (currently donating one pair every 13 seconds) to people in over 125 countries, including Honduras, Uganda, Romania, and the United States. Visit www.giveshoes.org for more information.)
Rick
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