Laura Ruth
“Every place the sole of your foot treads shall be yours…” (The Bible: Joshua 1v3)

We move forward step by step. With every step progress is made. Before we know it the scenery
around us has changed. We have moved forward into a different place.
The shoes we wear or ours. They do not belong to anyone else. There are occasions where we select
our footwear for the tasks of the day. There are also occasions where we select our footwear based
on our personal likes. You wouldn’t wear a pair of high heels if you are about to walk up a mountain.
Not only would that be silly it would also be dangerous. Like wise a pair of hiking boots probably
wouldn’t go with your attire if you were heading out on the town and going clubbing. Having said
that if it was me, I might!
The road we travel down, step by step is ours. It may be a path already well travelled. It may be a
path where we find ourselves as the trailblazer. Whatever path our life takes us on is our experience
of travelling it and ours alone, it does not belong to anyone else.
When I found myself in a psychiatric hospital I had my laces removed from my trainers by nursing
staff as I was deemed a suicide risk. I found myself tripping up and falling over as my feet flopped
around in my shoes. I went out to the hospital garden and took reeds from the plants to make my
own shoelaces. It wasn’t great but it helped. The photo I took of my shoes, when I look at it causes
me pain in remembering that time. But, It also provides a feeling of hope which in turns generates a
level of faith within me. Today I am not in the same place as I was then. I have travelled on. The road
and my surroundings are different. I do not know where the path I am on may take me but that is ok.
Old stomping grounds, new ones - our footprints left behind in the soil are imprints made by each of
us individually. We can say… “This is mine”. We are able to claim this place as our own. Our
footprints can serve as a reminder of where we have been and also where we are now. Equally we
can step forward into our destiny – making footprints, a visible sign in stepping into new territory.
Have courage, each step is a victory.