Monday, September 13, 2010

Tom has inspired me!

Amazing how one mundane Monday can turn into a special day? How one simple "have a great day", which is what the lady at Chik-fil-a said to me as I drove away from the drive thru this morning, can really be inspiring? Today has become that for me thanks to Tom! Or should I say Blake, the founder of Tom's Shoes. Have you heard of it? Unfortunately, I hadn't heard of Tom's Shoes until this past June when I took my son to his college orientation. A sign in the admission center was advertising that Blake of Tom's Shoes would be visiting the campus to speak to the students. It had no idea who that was. My son Keegan knew and he was very excited! Keegan simply explained to me that this guy started a shoe business and gave shoes to kids who needed them. Since June, Keegan figured out that this was the Blake he remembered from the reality show Amazing Race from several years ago. He has been really looking forward to hearing Blake speak.

Today as I was skimming over facebook, I saw that today was the day that the guy from Tom's Shoes was going to be at the university and I could watch the live feed on my Mac. I was excited to hear Blake's story and especially share an event with Keegan even though I am over 200 miles away. Technology, huh? Blake's story is very simple. He explained how he was inspired to start this shoe company so that he could help put shoes on children's feet. He explained how it grew from making 250 pairs of shoes in the beginning three years ago into a company that this year will have given over 100,000.00 shoes to children in need! It is a simple but so incredibly inspiring story!

I sat here in my quiet, humble living room listening to Blake tell his story with tears in my eyes. Touched by the giving heart that he has but tears for the longing in my own heart to find what service God would have me to do. A longing to know where I am supposed to be and who I am supposed to helping. A need to know what my purpose is as I approach my 46th birthday. I found myself sharing tearfully again with two people last week my need to find God's purpose in my life.

Please check out Tom's Shoes website and buy some shoes! Maybe that's mine and yours first simple step in helping others! And as we help others, God may reveal our true Divine purpose!