Sole Sisters: Walking the Same Road-Wearing Different Shoes
excerpt from the book's Introduction
It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. (2 Corinthians 4:6-10 MSG)
We can become blinded to ways God’s Spirit dwells within us. He is eager to have us share the realities of our individual lives. Jesus shone out the glory of his Father. In his first earthly miracle, He changed the water in plain earthen pots into the finest of wines. The event was a wedding celebration. Attendees wore dancing sandals!
Often we view ourselves as ordinary, a vessel filled with the water of an everyday life. He asks we trust the miracle of being containers of his Living Water, more robust than wine. We are not to hoard it within but leap out of the limitations we put on ourselves and slip into the shoes He has custom designed for each step of our life’s journey. He will accompany and guide us if we let him.
This book offers insights of what the journey has been for various women and offers readers the opportunity to reflect on their own lives or share beyond solo reflection and enjoy the journey with others in small groups. It is written from the Christian perspective by a woman, for women, because we are sole-sisters. We walk together. Our roles in life may differ. Any role can change in the twinkling of an eye. What remains consistent is our core identity of singleness in the Lord and his guidance when any role changes.
Two things are needed to live from this perspective. First, to be handed the blueprints guiding our journey, we need to know the One handing them to us. Accepting salvation’s reconciliation to God through Christ will bring him to dwell within us. We are then ready to recognize, with new eyes, those on the road with us. Various paths make up the road, but all on the road come to view others along the way. The shoes we each wear are infused with his grace. They contain all we need to walk out our days—one step at a time.
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