Courage to Take Off

When my girls were younger, they often wanted to try on Mommy’s clothes. I had one girl who loved my high heeled shoes. Oftentimes, when I couldn’t find her in the house, I would discover her in my walk-in closet. She would sneak in there just so she could try on my shoes.

Finding the right pair was always a challenge for her. No matter how many times she dumped my shoe bin, it was as if she was searching for the first time, wonder-eyed at what pair she would choose to wear that day.

For her, the higher the heel, the better.

I had one specific pair of bright red stilettos that she would constantly steal. I would find her walking around the house in my shoes—which, by the way, were double to triple the size of her tiny little feet.

Clickity clack. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. I would hear her walking on our hardwood floors and just wait to hear her stumble and tumble and erupt into tears.

All because she was wearing my shoes.

Yet, when she finally appeared in my line of sight, her face would be beaming with delight. She thought she looked so pretty. Gorgeous. Heart stopping. Breathtakingly radiant.

But from a mom's perspective, something looked out of place and oh-so-preciously awkward.

The shoes were barely functional for play and dress up around the house, yet she hardly

seemed to notice. But I knew that if she ever exited the house with those shoes on, she could get seriously injured.

Someday she would probably fit into those patent-leather, lipstick-red stilettos, but for right now—in this time and season—she wasn’t yet big enough to wear them. She needed shoes her own size so she could walk, run, and function in her current season of life as a toddler.

There’s so much I’ve learned from those stilettos. If only God would give us eyes to see the things we refuse to take off that look absolutely absurd on us.

The things we see as gorgeous, sometimes God sees as dangerous.

The things we are clinging to can actually hinder us from walking in strength the way God has intended us to.

Admitting something fits awkwardly doesn’t mean that we will never wear it in the future; we very well may. It just means that right now, in this season of our life, it doesn’t fit. As much as we long to have those shoes, wear them, and strut around in them, it’s just not functional right now.

There’s a story in the Bible that inspires my soul whenever I read it. It encompasses the courage to take off. It’s about David and his fight against Goliath. (We will talk about David a bit more later in this book.) Goliath was basically a giant warrior. Picture the Hulk in your mind.

To the Israelites, Goliath was the Hulk. A seemingly insurmountable foe that had been pestering them for weeks. When David heard about how this giant was defying God and His people, he was stirred to action. He made the decision then and there: if no one else would face the enemy, he would not stand by and do nothing. He would fight Goliath. Before he entered into battle, he came face to face with the king of Israel for a pep-talk.

“Then Saul outfitted David as a soldier in armor. He put his bronze helmet on his head and belted his sword on him over the armor. David tried to walk but he could hardly budge. David told Saul, ‘I can’t even move with all this stuff on me. I’m not used to this.’ And he took it all off. Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.” 1 Samuel 17:38-40

Before David entered into this battle, one of the greatest battles he would ever face, he was given the king's armor. Now, King Saul didn’t intend for his armor to weigh David down. In fact, Saul was trying to help David in the battle. If David was going to fight this giant named Goliath, then David needed protection. Any reasonable person would come to the same conclusion.

But David decided to take off the armor of another and stay true to who God called and created him to be. David had confidence in the ability of God to deliver no matter what the means.

In order to have the courage to take off, we must be fully persuaded that God can deliver by using exactly who we are and what He has given us in this season.

With God, we are more than able to thrive in all He is asking us to do.

"Taking off requires courage because you finally need to admit that what you’ve been given doesn’t fit well. You risk the potential of disappointing people. The truly courageous take off what is ill fitting, in order to put on what God has fitted for them."

Let's Keep Growing

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