Story Shoes

"...Ballet Shoes and Skating Shoes and Theater Shoes and Movie Shoes...I'd start with Skating Shoes, it's my favorite, although Ballet Shoes is completely wonderful." -- You've Got Mail

You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. 

Leather shoes, tennis shoes, work shoes, lace-up shoes, stiletto shoes, dirty shoes, rain shoes, no shoes...

When there are 18 million people living in your city - that's 36,000,000 shoes being worn on one day, in one city alone. (Then multiply that by how many pairs each person owns! Wow.)

Above are just a few of the shoes I saw today. I am back in Istanbul now and it's been great to see old friends and make new ones too. I've spent the last few days outside of the city, skiing in Uludağ and swimming in the thermal pools of Yalova for the holidays. 

Today I was reminded of the movie "You've Got Mail" which stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. If you haven't seen it, there is a scene in the movie where Meg goes to the children's area in Fox Books and helps a lady find the "Shoes Books". Because of Meg's circumstances with loosing her job,  confusion in her romantic life, and connection with the books, she cries when helping the lady. 

Thee "Shoes Books" series by Noel Streatfeild tells stories about the lives of children who wore different types of shoes. Though I've never read the books myself, as I was waiting for public transport and staring down at the shoes around me today, I was struck with the fact that everyone has a story.

There are so many we pass each day whose story we will never hear. This past week I got to listen to my dad tell stories of his past, and hear about the hard and good and crazy things he has done over the years. I got to listen and learn from the wisdom of old and new friends as they shared what they had experienced over their life and what they had learned from their mistakes and accomplishments. and most importantly, I got to tell someone about my life story and why I decided to give my life over to God because of how Jesus Christ walked in my shoes 2000 years ago.

Whether you're wearing ballet shoes or skating shoes or no shoes at all, you have a story and someone is yearning to hear it. Don't hesitate to share it. Take time to listen to the stories of others who are needing to share theirs too, you both will be glad you did.

Now that my ski boots are off and I am back in the city, I am ready for things to calm down a bit and return to a balanced schedule. I look forward to the next two months and all that I will get to experience here. Day by day, I hope to be able to hear even more stories of the lives of those walking all around me. 

I'm bound to catch at least one.

There's 18 million of them.