Monthly Archives: April 2025

As we start spring 2025, I am starting a new blog series: Life-Lessons from My Favourite Things that I hope would take me to the end of the year. To kick of this series, I want to share some lessons about shoes. If you know me well, you’d know that I love shoes: all kinds of shoes – sneakers, sandals, flats, heels, boots; leather, patent, canvas – you name it.  You can call me a shoe-aholic.

Why do we NEED shoes or do we just WANT them; or is it both – we NEED and WANT them. I am agreeable to the last option because of a few reasons.

Shoes are needed because they offer protection from the elements: cold, heat, rain, and snow. They also shield our feet from sharp objects and potential injuries like cuts, scrapes, and punctures. We also want proper shoes because they can help prevent fungal infections and other foot problems.

In 2022, to fill global needs, an estimated 21.9 billion pairs of shoes were consumed worldwide. This translates to roughly two pairs of shoes per person on the planet.[1]

Life Lessons from Shoes

Shoes, while seemingly mundane, can offer valuable life lessons about self-expression, personal growth, and overcoming challenges. They can also symbolize our journey, identity, and the importance of taking steps, both literal and figurative, towards our goals.

Here are some life lessons we can learn from shoes:

• Comfort and Fit are Important

My love of shoes stems from a desire to wear footwear that fit properly which is crucial for foot health and to maintain overall well-being. We all know that just as a poorly fitting shoe can cause pain and discomfort, relationships that don’t fit our values and goals can lead to unhappiness.

I admit that a few times I made the mistake of buying a pair of shoes based only on looks or appearance without checking to see whether they are comfortable for standing and walking. Similarly, we need to find activities and relationships that fit us well, and surround ourselves with people and things that are supportive and that bring true happiness.

We must also remember that people can appear one way – cool and friendly – on the outside but be different on the inside – prickly, critical, and untrustworthy. Yikes!

• Good Shoe Care Matters  

I take good care of my shoes to make them last. I clean and polish them after each season change, especially winter and spring when they get covered by grime, salt, and water. I also keep them in boxes when they are not in use to keep away dust and to maintain the original shine.

In like manner, we should keep cleaning and polishing ourselves both physically and mentally so we could shine, remain desirable, and to ensure our relationships last. So, the next time you feel down and unmotivated, remember this shoe-lesson: Make sure you don’t let the scum from outside rot you out and make you smelly and stinky. Keep wiping the dirt away to remain clean.

Shoes are also a symbol of walking along various pathways as we journey through life. The path we take is often more important than the end goal so we should focus on the process of living, learning, and growing throughout our lives.

• Embrace your Imperfections

It’s odd that we use much of our time to take stock of our weaknesses and imperfections. We think that we are less than or not as great as the person next to us. Then someone comes along and genuinely appreciates us and heaps praise on our heads, and what do we do? We try to push them away with our own negativity.

Likewise, no shoes are perfect. Some shoes are good and some are bad but we wear them, nonetheless. So, just as there are good shoes and bad shoes, we can learn from good and bad people; from good and bad situations; from positive and negative experiences, as well as from successes and failures. So, learn from shoes and embrace your imperfections and learn from your mistakes.

• Stay Grounded

It doesn’t matter whether your shoes are cheap or expensive, branded or local, custom or mass-produced, they always have to remain beneath your feet, and on the ground.  In like manner, we should never forget our true place. It doesn’t matter how successful we become; how much money we have, or how famous we get, we must never forget our roots or from where we came. This ensures we stay humble and firmly grounded like our shoes.

• Beware of the Footprints You are Leaving

Just as shoes leave a footprint on the ground as we walk, we leave our own mark on the world in his journey called life. In the book of Ephesians, chapter six, and verse fifteen, the Bible counsels that a Christian must have “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”

This phrase, part of Paul’s description of the “armour of God”, is symbolic of a Roman soldier’s equipment, and is used to show how the component parts of the Christian’s spiritual body armour work together.

More especially, the expression “shod feet” means to wear shoes.  A soldier’s shoes are designed to grip the ground firmly, even when it’s slippery. Similarly, having the gospel of peace fitted into your shoes allows us to make various footprints: we stand firm in our faith; we share with others the good news that salvation comes only through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross; and we fight for what’s true and right. However, shoes not only prepare us to share the gospel of peace but show that one is at peace with God.

• Maintain both Sole and Soul

You must have heard the saying, “There is always room for another pair of shoes.” This saying is true for a few reasons: Shoes may wear out failing to provide adequate support and protection. We need specialized ones for athletics and other sporting activities, and for special events like weddings and graduations. We also need different types of shoes for a particular activity (e.g., we need rubber boots to wade through water or mud).

The shoe sole is one of its core elements without which the shoe won’t be able to sustain itself for long. As such, we replace our shoes when their soles fail. Similarly, chapters of our lives end as happens when a friendship or marriage fails or when someone retires from a job or dies.

Learning to embrace the wear and tear of life can build resilience and make room for new beginnings. As souls, we must also take care of our real selves as we live on this earth and to prepare for eternity. To protect body and soul, we must be spiritually strong to face the highs and lows of the Christian life.

Finally, like our shoes accommodate growth with an increase in age and size, we too can grow in Christ through the study of God’s word, prayer, and witnessing. So, don’t rot and die. Abide in Christ, grow, and bear much fruit.

[1] https://runrepeat.com/shoe-consumption-statistics

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