The Miracle of the Shoe

Once upon a time, there was a family that lived in the rain. The rain came so often that if the sun peeked out, even for a minute, it was cause to celebrate...and go for an adventure if the temperature rises above 50 degrees.

One day the sun came out and this family decided to go for a hike to the Denny Creek Trail and the slippery slab. So they got all excited and dressed up in their most uncomfortable swimming suits and set off wearing but flip flops and towels. After what seemed like hours of hunting for the trailhead, the discovery was made and running ensued out of pure excitement. A legend was told that it was but a mile or so up the mountain but it was actually 4,000 miles in snow and mud and that legend is just a cruel, cruel joke. And no one told them that a stroller would be a BAD idea.

So after much climbing and disintegration of spirits, the water/slab/raging river/slab of death was reached and all hope went swiftly downstream with the current. Getting 4 kids across sang of impossibility. The mom sat down in defeat with the wee little one and let the others have their adventure.

The dad took the 5 year old and was about to set her in the raging current and set the mother’s heart into arrest when the current took that 5 year old’s little shoe to a new land many miles away. It was a moment of much tears and trembling.

But then in the distance….

…a beam of light shone down and angels sang as a lone ‘sole’ called out from afar. Another child’s misfortune turned out to be their saving grace. That saving grace even happened to be the correct shoe size and the left one.

Step over step, a timid traverse of the river, windy gusts that rival the Alps and all 3 kids were ready to go home.

Step over step back across they came. 2 children with matching shoes, 1 child without.

Back down the mountain shivering like tiny earthquakes, blue lips wimpering, records were set in speed as the family made it back to the van and basked in the artificiality of the most wonderful sunshine…the car heater.

So full of disappointment for the parents yet those kids remember nothing but the pure awesomeness of the adventure.

And every time that family comes across a body of water, be it a lake, a stream or a waterfall, they swear they can see that little purple shoe. Maybe it too will be someone’s saving grace.