Old Friends

I wish I hadn't thrown them away.  Do you have some too??

My favorite ole' hiking boots.  I threw them away... in Colorado.

It was a snowy in day April.

2011.

Really wasn't much left to them.  The soles were about worn through.  Arch support?? Non-existent.  There was no finish left on the leather whatsoever.  Laces were pieced together... knotted here and there... because new one's just wouldn't be the same.  Those boots and I traveled many miles... for many years.  They'd walked fields, sat in hunting blinds, tromped through mud, stood ankle high in water, and literally froze their laces off in snow for me.  They've tended gardens, walked dogs, run from snakes, climbed trees, searched for antler sheds, and found morels.

Yep.  My hiking boots.  I miss 'em.

Sound silly??  Maybe so.  But don't some things you look at just tell a story??  Are there things you own that, although you know they're just "things", hold special meaning because of the hours you've spent together??  Do you agree that sometimes it's the tatters, tears, and scars on things that make them all the more endearing to you??  Make them.... "familiar"??

My boots have been gone now for 9 months... 17 days... and 3 hours (before you think I've truly lost it... JUST KIDDING!!)  They truly were dumped though... in Colorado... to make room in my luggage for a shiny new pair.  So why now am I thinking about my hiking boots??  Because of some women I've bumped into lately.  I noticed their Bibles.  Worn.  Tattered.  The shiny gold stuff on the edges of the pages was all worn off.   Pieces of paper stuck here and there.  I saw endless notes written in the margins.  But mainly it was the leather I noticed.  It reminded me of my old boots.  And it reminded me of the shiny new Bible I was carrying.

I wish I could say that I had bought a new Bible because the old one was SO worn that the pages were falling out.  But that wouldn't be the truth.  And we aren't supposed to lie.  And lying about your Bible?? Hmmm... that seems to cross another line now doesn't it.  Truth is, I bought a new Bible because I wanted a different translation, which I do love.  I still have my old one.  I was quite surprised when I dug it out and dusted it off after WAY too many years of very little use (they have Bibles in church pews, after all) to find old notes, scribbles, and underlining.  Even though it had been a long time, I recognized my handwriting, knew what stage of life I was in when I wrote certain things.  I had used that Bible... way back when.  It made me sad to realize how I had neglected it for so long though.  How many journeys I had been on in my life and left it tucked away in a drawer.

The Bibles I saw those women holding stood out to me.  I wondered what stories they saw when they look at them.  What memories flowed from the leather through their fingers as they held them.  They had obviously been through many years together... traveled many miles... probably shared some celebrations and sopped up many tears.  Dare bet those Bibles even saved a life or two.   Something so "loved" must be very precious to them.

You can buy boots that look old when they're actually brand new.  I've seen Bible covers that have that weathered look also.  But I don't want that for my new Bible any more than I want a "vintage" looking pair of new boots.  I want my new Bible to earn it's scars.  I want it to weather with me.  I want to know it so well I would recognize it as mine on a book shelf of thousands.   I won't mind if there are tear stains on the leather... or if the edges are frayed.  You know why?? Because I want to see my life when I look at it's worn pages... knowing it's been part of the journey.  MY journey.

I'd love to insert a picture of my old boots here... you'd see their story... but I can't.

I threw them away.