My dad was the youngest of nine children. After hearing stories of his childhood antics, I am sure his behavior helped my grandparents come to the conclusion that nine was enough and "Billy" was meant to be the grand finale! Often, he would entertain my sisters and me with stories about his childhood. However, of all of his stories that used to shock and/or amuse us, his story about his new shoes was always the one that we would often beg to "Tell us again!"
According to my dad's recollection, his mom had become friends with the owners of the neighborhood shoe store. During one of their conversations, the owners were telling her about a new line of children's orthopedic shoes and the massive amount of benefits that they offered to their young clients. Wanting the best for her son, my grandmother saved up and bought my dad a pair of these new shoes that were more known for impressing local podiatrists as opposed to the neighborhood ten-year-old boys.
One day, my dad arrived home to find my grandmother in the kitchen preparing dinner, while his new shoes were waiting for him on the table next to his snack. With great excitement, my grandmother announced that those new shoes were for my dad. However, her enthusiasm quickly transformed to anger when my dad announced that he thought those shoes were the ugliest shoes that he had ever seen, and he was never going to wear them!
My grandmother informed him that he was being ungrateful, and as a result, he going to be wearing those particular shoes until they no longer existed, and with that final statement, she stormed out of the kitchen to calm down and regain her composure.
However, the story was not over in my dad's mind. Clinging to that promise of "until they no longer existed," my dad took matters into his own hands by opening up the already hot oven, placing his new shoes inside, and quickly leaving to go outside to play.
Distracted by attending to other household chores, a significant amount of time had passed until a peculiar odor started to fill the house. Upon an intense inspection, it seemed to seep from the kitchen. As my grandmother opened the oven to investigate and check on dinner, there to her surprise were her son's new shoes, simmering right next to the pot roast!
Obviously, my dad was not very grateful for the blessing of these new shoes!
How often do you list shoes when you count your blessings? If I asked you to count how many pairs of shoes you own, how many could you count? For many of us, shoes are a common blessing that we tend to forget about. However, for those experiencing substantial financial need, new shoes are a luxury.
Shoes can help promote health and prevent disease, and allow employment and school opportunities, as well as provide avenues of transportation through walking.
Soles4Souls is a nonprofit organization that has distributed over 30 million pairs of shoes in 127 countries and all 50 US states. Each pair of shoes that is distributed has the potential to make a difference in someone's life. As we have been focusing on the fact that "There is No Impossible with God" this school year, providing shoes to assist with this tremendous need is one avenue where we feel that the Lord can use us to help others.
On November 13th, our Student Council will host the 7th annual "Turkey Trot", entitled, "Help Others Step Closer To Jesus". The proceeds from this student-led outreach event will be given to Soles4Souls, which is able to purchase one pair of shoes for every dollar that is donated.
Soles4Souls also takes donations of slightly used shoes. As a result, our Student Council has set up a donation station outside each main entrance. Please place any donated shoes inside the "turkey box" and fill out a paper "foot" for every pair of shoes that you donate with your child's name and grade. The Student Council will then make a path of feet around the school; it will be very exciting to see how far these feet will travel! We are asking that all donated shoes are please turned in by November 30th so that we can get them to the Novi distribution center in time for Christmas.
So, let's help Soles4Souls stamp out poverty! It's time to ask God to help us accomplish great things in His name! To begin this process, students can start by collecting pledges! To obtain a new pledge sheet, please call the school office. As a special bonus, anyone raising over $50 will receive a free T-shirt with this year's Turkey Trot logo that will be delivered afterwards. We are asking that students please bring their completed pledge sheets to school by Friday, November 13th.
We look forward to watching the Lord bless this effort as we work together to help others step closer to Jesus!
In His Love,
Mrs. Palka