In the first Broken challenge photo and subsequent comments (which are fascinating), we’d reached an optimistic equation of Broken with Beginning —
Now we add a third B: BELOVED!
This shoe (the whole pair, actually) has done yeoman duty for my husband. It’s worn itself out in his service, and in return, it is dearly beloved in his eyes. Would he hear of throwing it out? Just when it’s totally comfortable, and loyal, and all other kinds of good traits shoes are capable of? You’ve got to be kidding!
Do you remember when mothers bronzed their baby’s first pair of shoes? Probably not. But if people still did that sort of thing, this pair of shoes would be up for it.
Broken, yes. Broken down, yes. But well broken in — beloved. A parable?
A View From The Woods 
I LOVE this one! Great post all around.
Thanks, Cecilia. Have to tell you, my husband laughed a lot when he saw it. But he liked it!
excellent. and oh so true.
I laughed a lot too … and I’m in full understanding!
😀
There was a man who wore the same pair of shoes every day, not because he had no others but because no others were as comfortable or serviceable as this pair. After weeks of wear, the shoes felt broken in; after months of wear the shoes were broken down. Finally, after years of wear the soles were worn away, the leather was warped, the stitched seams split, but the man loved those shoes and wore them despite their shortcomings.
“Throw them out,” advised the man’s wife. “They have served you well but they serve you no longer.”
“I would no sooner throw these shoes away than I would discard you, wife,” replied the man. “These shoes have been with me through thick and thin, through wet weather and dry spells. They mold to my feet, they know the needs of toe and heel, and they still have plenty of dance in them.”
The woman looked at her careworn hands, at her wrinkled, aging skin, and knew her husband was right. “You make a good point,” she told him. “Let us have a party then and celebrate the life still left in your shoes.”
With that, the man caught his wife about the waist and swung her about. They danced until they were too tired to see the faults in shoes or skin, and too happy to care.
Wow, lady!
You pick up the ball and carry it 100 yards for the touchdown —
Let the wild rumpus begin!!!!!!!
I guess the moral would be: don’t throw away a beloved thing just because it appears old. It may still have plenty of serviceable wear left in it.
We certainly do, don’t we?
😀
Oh Yeah!!! So true! I love my shoes, the more worn in and worn out the better. Great perspective for broken-Fun 🙂
It’s a heartbreak when you really can’t wear them any more! They know where all the pinches are 😉 and avoid them!
Thanks for coming by and adding to the discussion.
Your Beloved blog is wonderful – great idea – it is something that I can understand and relate to. And it is amazing what a little bit of polish will do for Frank’s shoes.
Hmmmm —
I think they still look like Before of Before and After — but if one sees through the eyes of love, it’s different (I guess)!!!!
I can so relate, because I have a really hard time finding comfortable shoes … that don’t hurt anywhere. Now I have … just the other day! In Walmart (!). I sense that they will end up like the ones in the picture…
Pauline’s ‘short story’ there was hilarious, by the way :
Anyone overhearing:
Check out the link for the Beloved Shoes —
And for Pauline’s story. (Lots of you already know Pauline from comments here, which is enough of an inducement 🙂
I think that story is hilarious too! The longer you’ve been married, the more you’ll want to read it —
It’s funny – that little story was in response to your “parable” remark. I’d never written one before and it seemed a happy challenge. I read it over after Rebekah’s comment and had to laugh myself!
Nothing like a little challenge here and there!
It was a great story, Pauline. Another arrow in your quiver?
Hey Peter — I really appreciated your comment on my venerable shoes. And it comes from a former Marine Corps guy who knows something about spit and polish. Point taken. Roger and out.
So many rifs on the theme of “broken”. Outstanding.
I don’t remember people bronzing baby shoes, but I have seen a bronzed pair. Mine are tucked away in one of the many boxes in my parent’s house…
I think mine were — it was really common — but they disappeared decades ago.
No great loss; although it was a nice thought.
I think I’m not terribly subject to nostalgia; at least in recent decades I find I’m focused much more on change and the future. (Kind of a surprise to me.)
So I guess the idea of Broken Down quickly translates to What Beginning?
As the saying goes, “When God closes a door, He opens a window…”. 🙂
And on the windowsill is a pair of bronzed baby/adult shoes —
Just kidding! But couldn’t resist , the image was so strong! <>
And yet it’s true. The opportunity appears but — one needs to open one’s the eyes to see it and recognize it —
It just occurred to me, maybe the window that opens is in our hearts —