“having shod your feet…”

Ephesians 6:15

So my son has taken up ice hockey. 

It was inevitable, really.  It’s in his blood.  The Apple of my Eye has been playing hockey since before high school, and still plays once a week. 

Up until this point, my boy has been a baseball player.  Whether he’s done with baseball remains to be seen, but this summer he wanted to try playing hockey, so my sweetie signed him up at the local rink. 

So a couple of times now, I’ve been the one to take him to practice.  It’s sort of nice to just sit for an hour in the cool rink (especially when it’s 90 outside) reading a little bit and watching him.  And I got sort of interested this evening, in the different drills they were working on.  Because of course they practice shooting, and passing and puck-handling, but they also practice skating.  And stopping.  After all, this isn’t running and walking and jumping, all of which kids have done since their first years of life.  No, this sport happens on an unusual surface, with special equipment on your feet.  And it doesn’t matter how well you shoot, or pass, or handle the puck, if you can’t skate. 

So they practiced skating backwards, and they practiced skating in circles and around obstacles and around each other.  And I thought about the armor listed in Ephesians 6, and how much all that hockey paraphernalia is like that armor.  Protection and stability and security.  And of course the stick.  The tool of their trade.

We have to be comfortable in the armor God commands us to wear.  It should be a part of us, and we can’t forget the importance of each piece.  But don’t forget about that footwear.  Get comfortable in that, too.  The gospel of peace is more than our foundation and our stability, it is our mobility.

~ “Therefore take up the whole armor of God,

that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,

and having done all, to stand.” ~

Ephesians 6:13

~