I know that not everyone will understand, but shoes matter to me. They are necessary for the journey. They change by season. They change by reason. If they pinch your toes or rub you raw, it matters.

As a Latina. As a Puertoriqueña. As a Boriqua who opted for a party instead of a formal quinceañero I never had the experience of the formal celebration of the changing of my shoes though I have changed them regularly, informally, privately, and yes, even ceremoniosly.  

I speak about them all the time. 

I speak about the shoes that God has allowed me to don on the journey and I have checked in and out along the process.  

In Indonesia, I learned to take them off and put them back on at the threshold of sacred spaces. Trusting that unlike Carrie Bradshaw’s Manolos GOD will allow me to find a pair again even when hundreds are piled on top!  

Today, my pending ordination became REALER because my shoes arrived! I am excited to change into them.  My footsteps on that day will speak my new name:

In my comings and my goings.