How many pairs of shoes do YOU have?

Have you stopped and looked at your child’s feet lately?  I have.  They are well taken care of (well, except for the layer of dirt on my son’s after a taekwondo class!)  They not only have one pair of shoes, they have several.

And when their feet grow, I head out and buy them another pair.  I have been traveling to our local thrift store the past few years as I’ve found amazing deals for a just a few dollars. Almost brand new shoes.

In America, we have the luxury of paying as little or as much for a pair of shoes that we want.  Even if I’m “dirt poor” I can get shoes for my child, whether it is at the Goodwill or at a shelter that distributes coats and shoes for all seasons. They are readily accessible.

That’s not true for many of the children around the world.  I recently did a post about shirts for shoes. Buy a shirt and you’ll also buy a pair of shoes for a child in Ethiopia.  Today, I actually spent time looking at the links of the children who will be getting these shoes.  I read their stories and I was struck with how much they need shoes.  Shoes for them equal a time without disease, blisters and pain.  One pair of shoes makes all the difference for these children. But either their families can literally NOT buy shoes for their children or they don’t have parents at all.

As I looked at the photos, I was struck again with HOW MUCH I have here.  My closet is full of shoes for many occasions.  I’m not saying it’s bad to own more than one pair of shoes.  But I’ve realized again that when I take the time to see the world from someone else’s perspective, I come away a changed person.

I want to buy all the children shoes.  I want all these children to have a hot meal and a safe bed.  I want them to feel the love my children feel.  It is not fair.  This world we live in is not fair.

The little girl I posted is one of the children who will be getting a new pair of shoes through Children’s HopeChest’s shirt for shoes program.