I sat at the table, head in hands, not knowing if I was capable of going. Not this day. This day, I just didn’t know. “Do I have the strength?” “Do I have the energy?” “Do I have the will?” I didn’t know, and there I sat, just staring at my shoes.

That’s when I heard it. A soft, yet strong voice within whispered, “Just put on your shoes.”

It was just one of those days, the kind where nothing seemed to go right. Even though on the outside, I looked just fine, I just couldn’t breathe. Every inch of me screamed. I wanted to just lie down, but knew my mind wouldn’t rest. I wanted to just give up, but knew my heart wouldn’t stop, so I listened to the voice that whispered, “Just put on your shoes.” I inhaled deep and exhaled long, slipped one foot in and then the other.

These shoes are not old, but old enough that the laces are just right and they are stretched just a bit in all the right places. They support and they comfort. I inhaled deep and exhaled long, stood up, put one foot in front of the other and walked out the door.

Every runner knows that some days, the hardest part of a run are the steps you take before you get out the door. Other days, it’s just all hard and the best you can hope for is to simply put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. I don’t remember what kind of run I had that day, what kind of pace. I don’t recall the route or the distance, but I do recall needing to run, needing to breathe. You may not need to go running, but maybe there is something. Something that you need to do. Something that you know will help, but you just don’t know if you have the strength. On those days, listen to the whisper and “Just put on your shoes.”