For some reason, I never schedule myself enough time to get ready. Not on a daily basis, but when I have to really get ready for something (aka not wear the same ponytail, blue light glasses, and black sweater to the virtual classroom). 

It always seems like I’m finishing my mascara or adding finishing touches to my accessories as I’m racing out the door. This process always takes me a few minutes longer than I anticipated. But my biggest pitfall comes from the bottom of my closet: my shoes. 

Can I confess something to you? 

I have the hardest time choosing which shoes to match to an outfit. It is my biggest insecurity in the fashion realm. There are just so many options! And how do you know if something is only kind of meh, or if it’s truly a hard no and will cause your outfit to stand in the good-try-girl-but-this-clearly-doesn’t-work category? I’m a big fan of outsourcing opinions in this department. 

When in doubt, the white sneakers never fail. But one of the most diverse categories of shoes also happens to be my favorite: the booties. Who doesn’t love a good fall / winter boot to complete an outfit? Something about slipping them on instantly makes me feel good. Like I’m going to do something important—like make it to class on time or save the world or something. 

There’s that phrase people use when they’re about to start a project or a race. “Lace up your boots.” Lace up your boots and get going. Lace up your boots and get after it. I don’t know what it is you need to do, but whatever it is—lace up your boots. 

I don’t know about you, but I have no problem putting my boots on. I will sit and lace them up or zip them or whatever needs to be done so long as I get to wear them. It’s the staying in them part that challenges me. It’s when my feet get tired or the back of the bootie rubs my ankle the wrong way or I just want something different. And this, my friends, is where true faith is built. 

Endurance sounds so good on the front end. It sounds cool to claim we believe that endurance is where our true faith is revealed. But then we experience it and learn in an all-too-real way that endurance burns. Endurance is where we get blisters and bruises. It’s where we’re in the middle. Or maybe we hope it’s the middle because we have no idea how much longer we will have to keep running.  

It’s here, in the wide, (usually) unpaved road of endurance that things get tiring or hard or both, and we are tempted with shortcuts, comforts, and easy outs. And sometimes I need this reminder: As hard as it is, as grueling as it, as easy as it would be to stop: don’t. Don’t stop moving. Don’t stop putting one foot in front of the other. Don’t take off your boots. 

We are called to run the race, and to run it with endurance (Hebrews 12:1-2). We know this. And I have found nowhere in the Bible that says we can’t run that race with the cutest dang booties ever designed supporting our feet. But once we’ve got them on, we’ve got to keep our nose down and our eyes up. That sounds like an impossible thing, the nose down and eyes up. 

In those moments when our hearts are longing for a break or an easier way, if we don’t keep ourselves accountable and focused on what needs to get done, we will make excuses or validate any other behavior or choices. And the only way to successfully do that is by keeping our eyes on Jesus. The whole time. Every second. Which we will fail at—all of us. But that’s where His sweet grace comes in like sunshine on a new morning, and that’s why He is the perfecter of our faith, not us. 

You know how sometimes when you’re reading the Bible and words will jump off the page at you as if you’ve never read them before (hello, Living Word)? When I read the first sentence of James 1:1 the other day, the Holy Spirit presented one of those moments. The verse simply says, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” And a thought crossed my mind. 

James, a servant of God. A servant of God. A servant. 

A servant isn’t some highly-coveted or acclaimed position. A servant is usually the one who rolls up their sleeves, tackles the task no one else wants to touch, and gets the job done. Even when they don’t want to. Especially when they don’t want to. Servants know who they’re serving and they know they are putting their own desires behind those of their Master. Servants work, and they work, and they work. 

They don’t get to tap out when they’re tired. They keep going. They endure. 

It’s really easy to complain in the middle. To start telling yourself all the reasons you deserve a break or can’t do something or aren’t good enough. I’m not minimizing the real exhaustion and fatigue that so much of this year has brought on, but we can’t stop to look around when we have work to do. When we have a race to run. When we have a Master—rather, a Father—who has called us to serve Him and has gifted us with His love. Claiming the truth that endurance builds faith and character—especially in that place—won’t be easy, but it will absolutely be worth it. 

Whether it’s this semester, 2020, or the season you’re in—this is your challenge to lean in and keep going. To continue putting one foot in front of the other, even when you’re exhausted. To continue opening your arms to God, even when it feels like you haven’t heard His voice in a while. He is good, His promises are true, and girl, you look really good in those boots.