Politically Correct

"How do you like this cold weather?" I asked my 90-year-young friend as I sat down in church Sunday morning. 

"Are you wearing boots?" she responded, peering at my feet, then stuck out her foot to show me she was wearing them, too.  Then she scooted closer to me to tell  me something.

"My great-granddaughter is getting married," she confided.  "And you should see the shoes she and her mother are wearing!"  Measuring about 3 inches with her thumb and forefinger, she exclaimed, "They are this high!"  I was properly impressed, and she explained, "I asked my granddaughter, 'How do you walk in them?' and she had me put my hand inside, and the soles were this thick!" Platforms! I have not bought any yet, but I did try on a pair one day, and they are surprisingly comfortable! 

When my savvy friend mentioned wedding shoes,  I thought she was going to say her granddaughter was planning  to wear tennis shoes down the aisle (as in the movie, Father of the Bride).  That made me think of my daughter wearing "Jellies," a novelty in the '80s, beneath her wedding gown!

Women's shoe styles are always changing.  From torturous high heels of ancient times, to the high-button shoes of the 1800s to today's toning shoes, flip-flops, or leg-strap sandals, it seems we are always presented with ways to make our feet fashionable, if sometimes uncomfortable.

Shoes for men, on the other hand, have always been sensible and serviceable, not to mention comfortable.  In recent years, sandals for men have become commonplace.  My husband put on a pair with socks yesterday, even though it is November!

Footwear in ancient times was often sandals, at least in biblical settings.  Jesus wore sandals.  John the Baptist, in prophecying of Jesus, said in the gospels that he was unworthy to loose the strap of the sandal of the One coming after him.  Dusty roads and sandy soil made the practice of offering a basin of water to visitors a courtesy that they could refresh and cleanse their feet upon entering a residence. Not to do so was an insult, as Jesus indicated in Luke 7:44:

"And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman?  I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head."

The purpose of high heels is to elevate, to set off, and to make the wearer more noticeable and seen in a flattering light.  The word, platform, is descriptive of the position given the wearer of platform shoes.  She is suddenly endowed with importance.  Jesus's "platform" was the lowly sandal.  From it, he changed the world.  May His platform be our platform today!