Gold Pumps

I think I may have developed a new Tuesday after class habit --- SM, and why not? After all, it’s near, only a jeepney ride away from school. After all, the merchandise is within a college girl’s price range. And after all, it burns time and is fun. It’s lovely, really.

Of course, I, being a girl inside a hallowed hall of commercialism, had to browse through whatever they sold there, and it is there that I saw them.

They beckoned to me, yelling “Me! Look at me!” and grabbing my attention. The gold leather shimmered from where I stood. Drawing me in, they revealed a black suede design that made them even more interesting and added more character. As I approached them, more and more reasons to fall for them were shown --- the 3 ½ inch heel (Any person who’s known me very much remembers that I have a penchant for stilt-like heels), the craftsmanship, the interesting toe, the P400 price tag. By the time that my trembling hands grasped them like a gem, I was basically already telling myself this:

“Gold pumps by Parisian, you shall be mine."

So I approached the first saleslady I saw and excitedly told her I wanted that glorious piece of footwear in a size seven. She obliged because, well, that’s her job. I sat down on the couch just thinking of how many delicious concoctions of looks I can create with those pumps and my clothes. Then, with one sentence, all my lofty thoughts were halted.

“Ma’am, size eight po yung pinaka-maliit natin eh.”

Oh no! For a girl, that’s heart-wrenching. It was the perfect gold shoe. It was calling me. Me! And now, you guys tell me I can take them home? (Oh goodness! I sound like an adoptive parent struggling with papers.) I walked away from the shoe department rather crushed. Gah! This is the trouble with small feet.

But then, I realized something. Wait a second! The smallest size is an eight, right? That means that if I bought those cork insoles they use to tighten the shoe, it can shrink to my size seven. All I needed to do was to put something extra to be able to say hello to those gold pumps.

It’s pretty much the same with life. We could never measure up to God’s standards alone. We are way too miniscule to fit ourselves to the immenseness of God’s plan. But much like those cork insoles, there’s Someone who mediated on our behalf so we can enjoy His enormous destiny for us. And what’s the best part? There is no need to pay an extra P15 or so to have Him. It’s done. All we need to do is believe.

And of course, Jesus is way better than just a pair of gold heels.