It Goes Without Saying....

...that I myself am riddled with "little black shoes."  

Constantly.

What does that mean to you?

Well, a member of one of my favorite musical groups posted here about a little black shoe the other day.  It's such a real, authentic glimpse into womanhood/motherhood.  One we can all relate to.  Since her post spoke a universal truth to me, I wanted to feature it here for you all.  

I cannot paraphrase it all as well as she can say it, so here it is in its entirety:

"There once was a little black shoe that almost got the best of me. You see, a few weeks ago, my dear friends invited me to the court finalization of their long awaited adoption. Even though it began at THE crack of dawn and I would have to drag my 3 little kids, and I knew it would be a disaster of a morning—there was no way I would miss it. That's why, being so extremely organized as I always am (stop laughing), in preparation, laid out the kids' clothes the night before. Every item.

Every item, that is, EXCEPT for one black shoe. My daughter's shiny black shoes were the ONLY shoes that would fit the special outfit I had chosen for her. It was, after all, a darling sweater dress with black and gold flowers and a black shrug on top. Nothing less than darling would do for this special day. So when one black shoe decided to go missing, I spent a good 73 minutes looking for it. I looked everywhere, determined that the delinquent shoe would not come off conqueror.

But at 11:30 pm, after digging through toy boxes, laundry baskets, and couch cushions, I despairingly gave up and went to bed. In the morning, the panic continued until time was up. I had to leave or I would be too late.

I knew I had to let go of the black shoe. My daughter would show up for this special occasion in a darling sweater dress with black and gold flowers and a black shrug on top AND BROWN SHOES. (You may wonder why I did not change her outfit entirely to match the brown shoes instead. That, my friends, is due to the fact that everything else she owned was dirty and wrinkled. And THAT is due to my amazing organizational skills as mentioned above.) And so, as I loaded my kids in the van that morning, I had this epiphany: "I did my best today." Even though things weren't perfect, I DID MY BEST TODAY. Sure, my makeup was only half applied, my baby's face still had sucker-residue from the night before, and my daughter was wearing black with brown shoes and sure, I have had "better" bests. But under the circumstances, it was the "best" best I could do that day. The important thing was that I was there, supporting my friends, and we were not, in fact, naked.

Do you do that, too? Do you ever agonize over things you can’t control? Like the cake you baked for the ward activity that ended up sagging in the middle? Or the time you had family pictures and you had the WORST hair day of your life? Or the child that turns his back on the church even though you taught him repeatedly about faith?

We can’t control the disappointments in our lives, but we CAN work towards having no regrets. Even if there is sadness or failure, weakness or losses, if we do our best under the circumstances, we need not regret. Now, I fully realize that a black shoe is a silly thing to stress about, but it DID remind me that my best is good enough—in every area of my life. Think about it—not only is our best all the Lord can ask for but it’s all He is LOOKING for. He will take what we can give and make it enough.

So go on, Black Shoe! Torture me with your lack of presence! Bring it on! Cuz this mamma’s gunna do her best, with no regrets, no matter what. (But if I were you, I’d sleep with one eye open.)"

I'm grateful to recognize, through her epiphany, this truth.  It's so applicable in all our lives.  I'm going to do my best each day and know that sometimes I have better bests than other times...but that each best is good enough!

So, celebrate today's best!