08/20/2026
You might be familiar with the following expressions or one similar that says… “walking a mile in another persons shoes” or “going the extra mile.”
I’m in Greenville, SC, helping a daughter move to college as she “steps” into the next season of life. We had to stop in at the tire shop for a wheel balance and alignment once we got to town. It was going to be a while, so we decided to walk a short distance to get some food. After 51 years of life, I finally truly understand those statements. The walk was along a very busy road. There were sections of sidewalk, tall grass, moist ground, hills, a smelly retention pond, businesses, lots of traffic and tremendous muggy heat. We were a short distance into the 1.2 mile walk and we were both like… “ummm, want to eat somewhere else?” 😁 I actually said, I think I now understand “a mile in another persons shoes…”
Our journey led to the contemplation of several things…
1. We can too easily be defeated and steered away from doing hard things. Hard things build endurance and they are for our benefit. They round us out, make us more resilient and give us empathy for those who are also going through hard things.
2. We do not always understand what others are going through as much as we like to think. Nor do we always try. My daughter was wearing a type of shoe that she and her sisters call “potato shoes”. They were not working. A short distance into our walk. She took them off and walked in her socks! I contested her decision and she said, “I don’t want to Ruin my shoes and I feel safer without them.” There was a stretch of hilly slope that had us walking in a way that could have led to ankles turning and her shoes were definitely not the “right fit”.
3. Hard things are better together. At intervals each of us said things that suggested we not continue. Had I been alone, I would have passed on the mission! 🤣. However, we both really wanted the “carrot” at the end of the stick and determined together to push through.
4. Hard things are not always as hard as they “threaten” to be. The GPS said it would be a 32 minute walk. It was not! It was 22. Yay for us! The gps did not take into account our resilient determination.
5. Getting through the hard thing often leads to greater enjoyment of what comes next. Even when that next thing is simple as food. The food was way more tastier in my opinion, because we did the hard thing to get there!
And the air conditioned Uber ride back was definitely much more DELIGHTFUL!
Lessons:
- Push through the hard thing!
- Do it with someone!
- Enjoy the blessings that are to follow!
- Be grateful for the strength and endurance it nurtures in you.
