good for the "sole" [aka"...if the shoe fits..."]

my favorite cool/cold weather shoes look like this...
[I actually have a new pair in waiting for when these die...]



they are, in fact, Rockports, like this...



they accept my orthodic inserts easily...
take even the thickest wool sox without being too tight...
support my ankles...
& are totally waterproof...
[believe me, they have been tested...]

I can walk for miles or stand around for a long time...
without the fatigue, stiffness & pain...
that comes much quicker with other shoes...
that you'd think would be easier on your joints...



such as these NB's I have in dark brown & black...
I had to get a narrower size last summer...
as I was slipping around in the old ones...
they work OK for a while...
but prolonged standing/walking in them can become a problem...



I got these NB's to address my pronation problems...
with an eye to having a good walking shoe for warmer weather...

in the last couple of months, as I've had a lot of pain issues...
I haven't been walking much & it's a vicious cycle...

I feel weak & stiff because I'm not walking...
which also slows my metabolism...
oozing me into gaining weight & feeling lousy about myself...
the extra weight exacerbates the back, hip joint & foot pain...
the weakness & pain from no exercise contributes to laying around...
so when I try to get active, I hurt myself...
and have to lay about, recovering...

I apologize for the whining...
but pain can really do a number on me...
especially when I wallow in it...
because I feel powerless to deal with it...

and this kind of "bad attitude" has plagued me always...

sometimes, I can distract myself with other things...
but mostly, I slip back into bad patterns & destructive mindsets...

and so, it goes ...



I've tried Crocs & like the squishy-ness...
but there is NO support...
& I find my back & hip joint getting so sore...
that I can barely hobble around...
much less actually exercise like I need to...
or even just get things done...

though they seem a bit better than the NBs...

just try hobbling around with various loving kitties...
& a rowdy dog underfoot or bumping you out of the way...
I have had visions of falling over one of them...
and being laid-up with a broken hip...

the end of my life as I've known it...

but, again, enough whining...
because there is good news...

I have been trying a visualization program lately...
that is becoming part of my routine, morning & night...
[along with the Daily Office...]
last night, I had visualized the pain & stiffness being gone...
& when I got up during the night, it was !!!

so this morning as I was meditating on my goals for positive outcomes...
since the pain & stiffness had not returned...
I included getting stronger, being pain-free & walking...
in my visualization of my day...

then...
I "saw"/remembered that I still had one decent pair...
of Birkies in my closet...



they have vinyl/rubber soles & uppers...
meant to be waterproof...
unlike the scores of leather/cork ones...
that I've worn-out over the years ...
& had tossed a couple of years ago...

not "squishy" like the Crocs, but with that lovely insole...
just enough arch support with the negative heel I used to love so much...
I had stopped wearing them at school because of the concrete floors...
and when my feet were wider, the straps bothered me...

now, they're a bit too loose, but that's NOT hard to fix...

so I put them on today...

did a bit of watering, spent time at the church...
and there is no pain !

not in my back, or hip joint, or feet...

so when I get home, I'm going for a walk...

I'm not quite ready for the rowdy dog yet...
but that will come as soon as I build some strength up...

on other fronts, I'm still waiting...

it's been made clear to me that I need to "stay in the boat"...
until I'm told to move...then a door will open...
when I allow myself to "lose the peace"...
and try to "do something"... I always fail...

so I'm trusting...sitting tight, resting in the peaceful place...

I've asked God to bless all of my resources...
and to make them last like the oil & meal in the Elijah story...
or the loaves & fishes Jesus blessed...
until I'm in a proper state of grace...
for the door to the right job to open...

thinking...visualizing...of God as all I need...

when I have learned to do this...
to be there... surrounded by His grace...
to live there... no matter what...
I'll have turned a corner that I've needed to turn...
for my whole life...

"...no turning back, no turning back..."