The parable of the Shoe Shine Lady
Most of you know a parable as a fictional account of moral conviction which gives the listener some type of lesson or takeaway.
I love to travel, not necessarily a fan of the process. You know, TSA and Homeland Security just take the fun out of everything. But in all things, give thanks. Right? As annoying and inconvenient as the pre-flight shakedown is, it’s for our ultimate good and safety.
Usually when I travel, especially by air, I dress as comfortably as possible. On my most recent passage to Savannah, I did not have this option. As soon as I touched down on Savannah soil, I had a meeting and I had to not only show up, but slay, snag the bag and seal the deal. I was wandering through that behemoth known to humanity as Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. Yes, the world’s busiest airport. The place where I missed the December 2017 power outage by 6 hours as I was coming home to Raleigh for Christmas. I’ve always seen the shoe shine stands in airports, but really never had a reason to go, I mean….You gon’ spit shine my Crocs?
Since I was already suited up like one of Olivia Pope’s gladiators (God, I miss Scandal), and I had some 40 minutes before my flight boarded. I thought to myself, “Hell, might as well get these Ferragamos dusted off.” My friends know that I’m an outgoing introvert. At times I cringe at the notion of engaging small talk. I sat down in the chair and the shoe shine lady, who looked to have been the age of my former high school students I taught during those early and spry years of my teaching career, started the small talk Q&A. How you doing today? What time your flight boards? You travel a lot? Where you headed? Where you from?
Being on a jittery edge for like the previous 36 hours about this meeting, presentation and just other stuff, I welcomed the conversation. I told her that I was from Raleigh but living in Louisiana, and traveling to Savannah, I told her that I used to teach, and told her about this meeting and presentation that I had in a matter of hours. This lady, a complete stranger, who does not know me from a can of paint told me. Listen, you gonna go in that room, do your thang, and the people will be like “Yassssss!” You made it this far, you got this.
I don’t know what it was about that pep talk from the shoe shine lady in the Atlanta airport, but the way she set up my confidence and self esteem; in a conversation that I normally would have been reluctant to entertain was powerful. As she was buffing off my Ferragamos, she was blessing me with a word of hope and encouragement to push me through the task at hand, slay the you know what outta this meeting. Thank you, Shoe Shine Lady!
I say all that to say…the moral of the story is this. So often we are our worst critics. And when we self-criticize, we are brutal and merciless. Thank God for people around us, who can see in us, what we often overlook in ourselves. Perhaps it’s because we don’t have the vantage point of ourselves that others do. I call my friend Brandi my hope pusher and encourager. In the midst of job searches, projects or whatever, she has been resolute and unmovable in her “Karsten, you got this.” In this season of Wake, watch and wait, be open and listen to the hope pushers and encouragers around you, and receive the message that they have for you. Just like the Shoe Shine Lady in the Atlanta airport, they just might bless you with a word of hope that you need to get you through the moment. Wake, watch, wait. You got this.
#Selah
