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“Skates”
March 2006

Lisa Ingle

I would like to share with you about the love of my life, Jesus Christ. How our Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit saved my life, gave me hope, forgives me and continues to mold me every day.  

This brings me to the story behind this pair of skates. I sit here in reflection on my life as a Christian and I can compare it to this pair of roller skates. Have you ever had something from your childhood that you have carried around with you when you move they go in just that right place in the closet? You don’t dare put it on probably wouldn’t fit. But it reminds you of a time in your life you just don’t want to forget. This would be my story with this old pair of skate. I am married and have three grown daughters now. The Lord has taken me and my family on a journey the past twenty five years. We went from Missouri to Hawaii, to Texas, my husband and I just returned to Missouri weeks ago. Well let me tell you this pair of skates has not missed a state. They were lost a few times but always found. As I sit here and look at them now the Lord overwhelms me with His love where He has taken me and how He has taught me, and provided for my every need on this journey. I am so blessed to be loved and wanted by my Heavenly Father.

There are three things the skates remind me of. First is my hope in Christ, second my scrapes in life and the grace God provides, and third how the Lord desires to mold me.

First these skates remind me of my hope in Jesus Christ. I grew up in a family who loved the Lord. I was the youngest of six children. My parents took me to church growing up and I learned about Jesus. Well when I was a young teenager I became very ill and had given up all hope in life. I was put in a hospital several miles away and told I had to choose to live or I would die. I can remember being left alone and crying out to God. I had no strength but I asked Jesus to save me. I knew I could not live on my own. No matter how hard I tried I could not be perfect. I had sin in my life and I needed a savior. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short in the glory of God.”  John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

It was then that He became my Jesus.  I laid my life before Jesus asked for forgiveness and surrendered my heart to the Lord and He has been with me ever since. The next several months were not easy but God was with me and healed my heart over time.

This brings me to the skates. After returning home I returned to the skating rink where I always loved to skate and desired to be a better skater. Well God made sure I did just that. The owner of the rink convinced my parents to buy me this pair of skates. I started taking skating lessons and was learning how to spin and jump. Then the owner made sure I had the plates and proper wheels on my skates to improve my ability to spin and jump. This was such a gift of love. When I was on the rink floor by myself skating and gliding to the music, the wind at my back going from edge to edge, the freedom I felt was breathtaking. I knew it was something special. The Lord was in the process of showing me His love. I knew this was not something I could do on my own. He used this time to give me hope in living and revealed His presences while healing a broken heart.

This brings me to the second point which are the mistakes I make in my life as a Christian and how through Gods grace I am forgiven. Do you see all the scrapes on these skates? I look at them as bruises. At least I can remember plenty of bruises on me during this time. I can remember trying over and over to do a jump or a spin and falling over and over again. I think I spent more time on the floor than in the air. But once again it does reflect my walk with Christ and how He loves me so much. There were many years I remained a baby Christian. I didn’t always seek Gods direction or do what I was supposed to do, I did what I wanted to do. But the Lord never gave up; He kept on keeping on. He would reach His hand out to me and say, "Child, I’ll help you up" and He would scoot me on my way while teaching me and never leaving me. You see the next several years God blessed me with a family, career and put many people in my life who reflected His love. But I have to admit I was a slow learner.

The last point this pair of skates reminds me of is how God molds my heart every day. You see when I first received this pair of skates they were shiny white and smelled of new leather. They were also very stiff. In fact they were so stiff I can remember the pain it caused my feet to wear them. They caused many blisters on my feet and ankles. However the more I wore them and jumped in them, the more I spent hours and hours spinning and turning, the leather on my skates softened up and started molding to my feet. They became the most comfortable things I had ever had on my feet, because I spent hours upon hours skating in them. They are formed to my feet. In fact, I can put them on now and they fit my feet just right.

You see as I spend time seeking Jesus every day, worshiping him, learning about Him in His word -the Bible; as I spend time doing what He tells me to do, serving Him and spending time with other Christians, my God is molding my heart to be like His, as my skates are molded to my feet over repetitive practice. One of my favorite verses is “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalms 37:4

Do you know Jesus as the love of your life? If not, please stop and ask Him into your heart.  If you are like I was, for many years not seeking to grow in your relationship with the Lord, then make this commitment. As you take the time to get to know Jesus in His word, your desires will become that of His will. Our Heavenly Father loves us all so much; He is standing with open arms asking each of us to know Him.