My precious daughter has always loved shoes. As a toddler she had an eagle eye for shoes; if someone took their shoes off, in a flash she had them on. It didn’t matter how big they were, she would wear them. I have these images of her growing up and the different memories involving shoes.
She would prance around the house in my mother’s high heel shoes, twisting at the ankle, walking on the insides of the shoes, breaking them down and wearing them out.
She would drag her legs, stiff and heavy, slowly making her way wearing her daddy’s cowboy boots or over sized shoes.
And she would often times scoot across the floor, as an ice skater would glide across the ice in her mama’s over sized, fluffy slippers. . . . . .
Shoes just made her happy!
At the magical age of four she developed a serious love for jelly shoes. They were popular in the 80’s and they were made of plastic and they came in all colors and styles,. Some just plain and some with sparkles, glitter that was infused in the plastic. She loved them all!
On one particular shopping expedition, as we entered the store, she immediately spied her beloved jelly shoes and made a bee-line for them. They were in the bottom bin and they were on sale. She could not contain her excitement and immediately started to sort through the shoes. I went through the scattered remnants of the remaining shoes and told her that there were none left in her size, they were all too small. She was heart broke.
So, as I went about my business looking through the clothes racks,
from somewhere behind me I heard this grunting sound and I could not imagine what in the world was going on. I turned around to look and I could not believe what I was seeing.
My precious daughter was going through the shoes, trying each pair on, stuffing her foot in each shoe, pulling and tugging, grunting and shaking. Her face was red and her hands shook as she tried to force her foot into a shoe that was two sizes too small. She looked like one of Cinderella’s step-sisters trying to force her foot into the glass slipper. She was determined to make the shoe fit.
I could not contain myself, I laughed hysterically as I watched her with those shoes, but even as hilarious as that scene was, it left me with a deep spiritual truth and the Lord has brought it to mind many times.
For this is truth: No matter how badly she wanted it to fit; no matter how much she pulled and tugged; no matter how much she grunted and shook; the plain truth is the shoe did not fit!
We so often desire things, things that are not a fit for us.
We pray. And then we do whatever we want, we go ahead and force the fit. We do not wait for God! We do not really listen to His answer, because we want what we want.
We are determined!
Wearing shoes that don’t fit can be painful and exhausting. It leaves it marks on you and the deep creases stay for a long time. It can cause problems that can last for years, maybe a lifetime.
It was heartbreaking for my four year old to walk away that day without those shoes but her mama knew what was best. And her mama, loving her and wanting the very best for her, took her to a store and bought her a pair of shoes. Shoes that fit perfectly!
And our heavenly Father?
Well, He knows what is best.
He knows the perfect fit for each of us. He will give us our heart’s desires in His perfect time, there will be no grunting, no straining, no shaking and most definitely no forcing.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. Proverbs 3:5-6
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thought of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
The Portion of my Inheritance 