Inconceivable!

Tuesday greetings!

So, I am going to say something to you that will probably blow your mind…

I am almost completely confident in saying this too.

What if I told you that something you do just about everyday…

Something you learned when you were very young…

Something that after you learned it, you never really thought much about it again…

You have done it so many times it is second nature…

Yet, I must let you know something…

Your whole life, chances are, you have been tying your shoes wrong.

Yup….you read that correctly.  Your shoes.  You have been tying them wrong pretty much your whole life.

Crazy, right?

Whatever do you mean that I have been tying my shoes wrong my whole life?! 

It’s true, though.   Please allow me to explain.

So if I had to take a guess at how you currently tie your shoe, it would probably go something like this…

Tighten the laces…cross the left and right strings and pull tight.

Make a loop with one of the ends.

Wrap the other end around the top of the loop and pull through the hole between the two loops. 

Pull tight.

Right?

Wrong!

When it comes to “shoe knots”, the knot most of us are taught is actually the weak form of the knot.   How can you check to see if you are using this “weak” form of the knot?  Hold the shoe underneath the laces and pull outward.  Sometimes this note will slip and loosen, sometimes coming untied, but it was also align the knot so that it runs down the long part of the shoe, towards your toes. 

Well my friends, there is a better way!

We are taught to tie our shoes this way at a young age because it is easier for a child to learn.  As we grow up, we never second guess the things we learned as a child and just take it as truth…which leads to years and years of you tying your shoes the wrong way.

The correct way is instead of looping the second end around the top of the first loop you make, wrap it around the bottom.  Everything else is the same.  When you pull the shoe wide you will see that the laces do not slip or loosen.  The knot will also align itself transverse to the axis, thus meaning it is the strong form of the knot!

It will come untied less often and won’t let you down as much.

What are some other things that we learn about as children?

Manners.

Respect.

How to share.

Bible stories.

About Jesus.

What was the Jesus that you learned about as a child?

Is He the same Jesus that you picture today?

What about God?

What did God look like to you when you were a child?

What do you think now?

What were the morals and lessons you learned from the common Bible Stories we all learn as children?

How often do you go back to a lesson you learned as a child and see what it means for you at this moment?

Have you fully formed your own thoughts and beliefs or do you believe the same thing as your parents because that was what you were taught?

One thing I love about the Episcopal Church is that we are able to do this.  The sermons we hear on Sundays, more often than not, are challenges.  A lesson is presented and we are asked to look inside ourselves to truly determine what that message means to us.  They are not a declaration telling you what it means and how it should affect your life.

Our faith is and should not be something that is stagnant.  As we grow and mature and go through life, our views on things change. 

Our faith should be a journey. 

An ever growing, ever changing relationship with Christ that should grow and mature as we grow and mature.

Today I ask each of you to reflect on the views and beliefs that you have and ask yourself, “Why do I believe this?” or “Where did this come from?”

Is it something you were taught when you were younger that you just continue to believe? 

Sometimes, we need to go out and figure things out for ourselves.  Different things in the Bible can mean different things to us all depending on where we are in life.

Questioning and searching and learning are all encouraged and good things when it comes to your relationship with Christ.

Maybe you will find that something you used to believe doesn’t quite mean the same to you today.

Or maybe you will find out that there is a different way to do something that you do everyday.  Like tying your shoes.