I am what I would call a boot girl. I like boots. I have more than one pair, I have several (several being more than 7 or 8...that's a lot of boots)! I get most, if not all of them on sale. I like the way they feel and the way they look, for whatever reason. But there is one pair in particular, the pair I have had the longest, that are very special to me. They all have a story, but this pair in particular is different. I'll tell you about these boots.
The short story is, when I started really liking my husband, Jeff, and realizing that I had feelings for him,
and he was shorter than I was, I was concerned. I didn't want to be like a guy who had told me that I was "too tall." Here I was, dating the most awesome man, brilliant, funny, kind, spiritual, honest, and shorter than I was. After some serious soul searching I came to the conclusion that I knew I really liked Jeff. And if the only reason I had to not like him was because he was shorter than I was, and if I had to stand before the Lord and say, "I didn't marry Jeff because he was shorter than I am", then the problem was mine, not Jeff's. Once I realized this, I was okay with how tall Jeff was. He was perfect, and no matter what happened with the relationship, I was going to have fun and enjoy liking him. So, I went out and bought me a pair of boots that made me two inches taller. I was free to walk and see what the Lord was offering me with this incredible man. These boots are a symbol of faith to me. They represent that I trusted in the Lord's perspective more than mine.
Sometimes we are so trapped by what
we see and know, that we think that's all there is and we forget the Lord is omniscient and we stop walking. He wants us to "walk by faith, not by sight" (
2 Corinthians 5:7). If I had only seen Jeff's height, I would have missed all his other incredible qualities. Christ offers us so much through the gospel and sometimes, because we hear of something that doesn't "fit" or it doesn't go with all we have learned all our life, we panic and think "this can't be true" and walk away from it. When we "walk by faith" we put on our "boots of faith" and say, "Lord, I will follow thee withersoever thou goest" (
Luke 9:57). By putting on the "boots of faith" we are saying in essence, we trust the Lord and we aren't going to "lean" on our own understanding (see
Proverbs 3:5). There is one thing I have learned for myself, beyond doubt, and that is, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (
Matthew 7:7-8).
"Boots of faith" make us taller, they help us grow a little at a time. "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto
my precepts, and lend and ear unto
my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have" (
2 Nephi 28:30 italics added). There are times when we want to know truth and ask for it and receive it, but then, because it doesn't "measure up" we turn away from it and say it isn't truth at all, but "hard to be understood" (
2 Peter 3:16) or we "set (it at) naught and trample under [our] feet" or in other words, "hearken not to the voice of His counsels" (
1 Nephi 19:7). It isn't easy to "walk by faith" (
2 Corinthians 5:7) because we want to "see", not walk. But first, we must "walk" and then we get to "see". And see we will, because faith proceeds the miracle (see
Matthew 13:58).
When we want miracles in our lives, or even small changes, we have to be willing to "put on the boots" and walk forward. Peter is a great example of actually putting the "walking" into action. The disciples are on the ship and see Christ walking on the water and at first think that Christ is a "spirit"and are fearful. Christ responds to their fear by saying: "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying Lord, save me. And
immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt" (
Matthew 14:26-31, italics added). Peter walked on water and was just fine
while his gaze was fixed on Jesus Christ. It wasn't until he looked around and saw that the wind was boisterous and he looked away from Christ that he sank. When we put on the "boots of faith" we must be focused on Christ. It is through our faith in Him that miracles will happen. Little by little, or even inch by inch, our faith grows stronger and stronger if we do not cast truth out by doubt (see
Alma 32:28-30). The truth with Peter, he really was walking on water. But he began to doubt as he looked away from the source and power of that truth, Christ.
There is a lot to be learned from this story about Peter. He not only had to have faith that Christ had the power to help him walk on the water, but he first had to
get out of the boat, the safety of his own knowledge. We must do the same. The Savior does say to us, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." (
Matthew 14:27) He is really saying, "Be happy; I will give you truth and lead you to it and you don't need to be afraid". When Peter wants to come to the Savior, as we all do, we sometimes want to do it our way. But there really is no other way than getting out of the boat, coming when He bids us to "Come"; and keep our eye single to His glory (see
Matthew 6:22;
3 Nephi 13:22;
D&C 88:67), completely fixed upon Him. Simply put, when we step out of the boat and leave the safety of our own knowledge and what we understand and "come unto Christ" (
Moroni 10:32) we trust that the Lord knows how to make us "walk on water" whether that's walking on the water of discovering for ourselves the truthfulness of
The Book of Mormon and then acting on that knowledge, walking on the water of paying tithing when it seems there isn't enough, walking on the water of forgiving ourselves and others, walking on the water of healing our marriage and our hearts when it seems the only way is divorce, walking on the water of insurmountable pain and enduring to the end, walking on the water of starting our family when we get married. He will help us walk on water in whatever form it is in our life. He "shall lift [us] up" (
James 4:10) and gives us the strength (see
Philippians 4:13) to do whatever He asks us to do. He won't drop us in the "boisterous wind" and sea if we keep our eye single to Him (see
D&C 4:5). We are the ones that look away and lose the strength and power from Him. "For it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain" (
Moroni 7:37).
These miracles can and will take place as we put on our "boots of faith" because "we believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things" (
Article of Faith 1:13).We can get out of the safety of the boat, keep our eyes fixed on Christ, and walk on water even though we can't see the bottom or perhaps even in front of us. Christ does see and He is there to catch us when we look away, just as He caught Peter. This I testify, is how to "walk by faith, not by sight" (
2 Corinthians 5:7).
