For many years, the Lord has called me to establish a foundation to provide shoes to those in need.
After losing my 8-year job, I opened a grocery shop in my area. At that time, the idea of starting the shoe foundation weighed heavily on me, and I wondered how I would establish it when I was barely surviving with my newly minted grocery shop.
One day, while I was at the shop, I found this button buried in the dirt. This was confirmation that I needed to start. However, I still needed to move forward with the foundation.
During that time, a gentleman would often come by my shop to purchase goods. You could tell he was private, but he opened up about his life after learning a little about me.
He had a family, but they weren’t living together, and he was struggling financially and otherwise. He had a small place near where I was, but he made next to nothing from his business.
He had it more difficult than I would want to share, but I assisted him in small ways that I don’t wish to disclose. (By the end of this post, you will understand why I wish I could have done more to help him.)
Even though he was a believer, he stopped going to church and would often speak of his negative experiences. One day, I challenged him about going to church, and even after several times telling me this and that about the church, he finally confessed that he didn’t have any shoes.
I was shocked!
While it sounded a certain way, seeing him before me, no question, this was his reality.
He made many excuses and frequently argued about his negative experiences with church members, even though those experiences may have been true. He wasn’t going to church because he did not have any shoes.
That was when it became real to me, so I got in gear, registered the foundation, and started posting on social media. For reasons beyond my control, I had to close the shop and eventually moved away from the area.
Things also worsened for me; I had to pay the government simply because I had established the foundation, and eventually, I closed the charity at the Companies Office of Jamaica.
However, the burning desire to donate shoes has continued.
About two years later, I was talking with a friend from the community, and after asking about a few people, I was told that the man was no longer alive.
Almost a year after I left the community, he was found dead in his house. The person was not able to tell me the cause of death, but I have a strong feeling about what it was.
It might have progressed if I had been obedient and started the foundation earlier, and I could have provided him with a pair of shoes. He could have gone to church; hopefully, the church would have rescued him from his situation.
Some people lack shoes and are unable to attend church or participate in their desired activities. Hopefully, this post will help you recognize that the issues behind a person’s inability to purchase shoes are far more far-reaching than they appear.
Join me in donating one pair of shoes today!
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