"Stand Out" by Christa Goodrich

Do you know what it’s like to stick out like a sore thumb wherever you go? Do you put your foot in your mouth more times than you can even count? I sure do! So, my encouragement today, is that it can be a good thing!

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6

A story of weird-looking clown shoes…

I found the weirdest-looking shoes at Walmart a couple of years ago, and for some reason bought them. They were black plastic with white polka dots and had a soft pink material inside. I would usually say that when you add polka dots to anything, you will find instant cuteness. Not the case with these guys. My shoe size is 10, so they were huge-weird looking clown shoes. Even though they weren’t cute, I wanted them for a purpose. I thought they would be great to slip on quickly, when I needed to run around outside at home.

I new that these polka dotted clown shoes would only be worn at home, where no one would ever see me them on me. I even attempted to give them to charity a couple of times.

Well, a couple of days ago, I realized that I needed some new casual dress shoes. It was one of those days, when I felt like it was my mission to find some. Earlier that day, I was wearing my tall, stylish, leather boots, and my feet were killing me! I didn’t want to wear those painful things to the store, and definitely didn’t want to wear tennis shoes with my dress. So, guess what I wore? The weird looking polka dotted things. I figured, no one would notice. It’s late at night. I’m going to a shoe store, to actually buy new shoes. No big deal, right?! Think again.

I got so many weird looks. While standing in line, I heard 2 guys walk in the store and actually call them clown shoes, under their breath. The red, embarrassing circles that instantly appeared on my face, matched the whole clown look, I was going for.

OK, so my shopping experience was a bit humbling, but kind of funny to look back at. I’ll call it an experiment that I meant to do. Well, at least God taught me something with it all, when it was over with.

One point to this story…

As a Christian, we’re going to stand out. It’s that simple. If we don’t, we’re not letting Him shine through us.

The alternative to standing out, is taking the easier road, which is nice and comfortable, with few risks to take. That’s where everyone else is. Why not? We could be pretty happy there. It would definitely be a place to ourselves, with no one to bother us. I think we can all be tempted to go that route.

Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

But doesn’t the Bible tell us to go against the flow and follow the narrow path? We are ultimately called to fulfill the great commission.

Matthew 28:19-20

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The truth is, if we choose Jesus, we’ll act differently than most of the world these days. You may not wear cool shoes like my house shoes, but you have something big that only you can stand out with! Why don’t we take the risk and let God shine through us?

So, listen to this song and Stand Out! It’s how the lost get found!