Friday, April 20, 2012

My word for April 21st is SHOES


My word for April 21st is SHOES

Vanessa Williams was crowned Miss America in 1983 at the age of 20.  She was the first woman of African American descent to ever gain the title.  Soon after winning she was relinquishing her title because nude photos were released of her in Penthouse.  Vanessa has continued on through adversity.  She has sold record albums, hit #1 on the R&B charts, been on Broadway, and sang in Disney’s featured film Pocahontas.  Williams has also had roles in movies and had roles in the TV series, Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewife’s.  Now Williams has written a book, “You Have No Idea”.  The star reveals shocking details about her past in her memoir.  She was molested at the age of 10.  She also got pregnant while in high school and chose to have an abortion.  When Williams was interviewed about her new release she stated, “You don’t know what people are going through until you walk in their shoes”. 

We never know what shoes people are walking in.  They may be too small squeezing their toes so hard they are in pain and blisters are forming with every step.  They may be too big.  They have to be careful with every step not to walk out of their shoes.  They tend to look funny and walk funny because of the shoes fitting awkwardly on their feet.  It could be that their shoes fit but they are rubbing on part of their feet causing them to be uncomfortable.  Before we judge others we must be cautious and not condemn.  We need to remember that we really know very little about what that person is dealing with.  There are reasons why people act as they do.  If we knew, it would be easier for us to understand, sympathize, forgive, be patient with them, or be harder on them.  To have mercy we must clearly understand someone’s words, attitudes, and conduct.   We must take the time to look inside another person.

I have always said people do things because of things in their past.  There are reasons for everything.  Vanessa Williams comes across as being a very confident woman.  She probably is now however, in her past she more than likely wasn’t.    Her mother says that Vanessa was always a risk taker, but when she poised nude she could tell in her eyes she felt uncomfortable.  Vanessa didn’t respond about the pictures however I do know this; don’t judge a book by the cover.  There are many things in the pages we may not know about. 

*Follow the golden rule; do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. 

Dear Lord help us to have empathy towards others.  We know that everyone goes down different paths for different reasons.  We understand that we won’t understand everything that happens, but help us to either move past it or feel more comfortable about a situation.  We know that everyone doesn’t wear the same size shoes.  Help us during this year of 2012 to be comfortable in our shoes.


Matthew 7:1 as proof that we should do no judging whatsoever: "Judge not, that you be not judged." Here, the Greek word for "judge" is krino, meaning to condemn, avenge, damn, sentence, or levy a punishment. Christ plainly says that if we condemn others, we will be condemned ourselves. Dangerous territory indeed!

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