The Boomerang Shoes From China

 

I've noticed that as I grow older, I've started to enter a rite of passage- looking at catalogs.  My mother loaned me one of those catalogs that specialize in things for senior citizens when I was experiencing back pain.  I found a nifty back stretcher, and since then, I have been bombarded with senior catalogs.  At one time, I laughed at the polyester pants and bunion-repair shoes.  But I've noticed, as I get older, some of the items are starting to look useful.  I still refuse to buy my wardrobe from the senior's catalog, but I did see some gadgets that I couldn't resist.  I placed my order and then waited for my "as-seen-on-tv" items to arrive.  I waited, and waited, and waited until a package arrived for me.  I opened my package to find two pairs of shoes from China, not my purchases.  I called the customer help-line and desperately tried to explain to the very nice Asian woman that I had not received what I had ordered.  Instead, I had received two random pairs of shoes.  They weren't even in my size, unless I had feet the size of a smurf.  She told me to send them back using the label in the packaging and leave a note mentioning what I ordered.  After arguing that a label was not included, just two pair of shoes, she agreed to send me a label.  I taped the label on the package, mailed it, and waited.  I waited some more.  Finally, after weeks, I sent an email mentioning that I had not received my purchases, just two random pairs of shoes from China.  No response.  I looked online for some sort of communication, only to find a note mentioning to contact the customer service line-again.  I called the line and once again received a very nice woman with broken English.  I mentioned the note to call customer service and the fact that it had been 4 weeks, and I had still not received my purchase.  She proceeded to tell me that they had not received the shoes that I had returned.  She reordered my original purchase and told me they would contact me when they received the shoes.  The next day, I received a letter from the company stating that they had received two pairs of shoes that did not belong to them.  What?!!! Then how did these random shoes from China end up in my package instead of my purchase.  Now, I pictured someone stealing my purchase and replacing it with some shoes they found lying around.  I began to wonder if I would ever receive what I had bought.  Two days later, my package had finally arrived.  I was excited that the woman had sent what I had originally ordered.  I opened the package to find-  you guessed- the same two pairs of random shoes.  I gave up!  The boomerang shoes were meant to be with me.  Have you ever found yourself waiting for God to move in your life in a certain way, only to see it never turning out the way you thought it would?   Maybe you were praying for something specific that just hasn't happened.  I had been praying that God would show me that He was in control in something very specific in my life, but it just seemed that my prayers were boomeranging like the shoes, returning to me unanswered.  In frustration, I asked God, "Are you ever going to answer this prayer?"  Later that week, I happened to be walking through a flea market in another town and tucked back in a corner was a pair of shoes, but not just any pair of shoes.  It was a pair of very expensive running shoes that I had been wanting for weeks.  I had followed them on Ebay, but knew I couldn't afford them unless they cost $20.  They were never going to be $20.  In the corner of the flea market booth sat a pair of the shoes I had been watching for $25.  They were in my size and almost brand new.  This was not a coincidence.  Two days later, I was at work, when I found out that one co-worker had bought me a drink for the morning.  Later that day, another of my favorite drinks appeared on my desk.  By lunchtime, a co-worker approached me saying that she wanted to buy me lunch.  Were any of these answers to my first prayer?  No, but they were answers from God.  When I asked if God would answer my prayer, He worked through people in my life to show me that I matter to Him.  My first prayer may not be answered yet or specifically the way I want, but it doesn't mean that it will never be answered.  If He can provide the shoes that only I knew I wanted in a town on the day I happened to be visiting, or provide my lunch when I had forgotten to bring anything for lunch that day, will He not provide for me when I need it?  My prayers are not boomeranging, they have been heard, and now, it is a matter of waiting for God to respond.  And I know He will.  I have a pair of shoes to prove it.

Have a great week high-heeled warriors!