Doing the Best You Can

October 12 was my cousin, Gene’s birthday.  He is nine days older than me (my subtle way of letting you know what is coming on October 21, hint, hint).  Happy birthday, Cousin!  So, when Gene was in middle school, soccer was gaining popularity.  I had never heard of soccer.  Me and my brothers always played baseball and football.  But soccer?  What was that?  Gene explained that you couldn’t touch the soccer ball with your hands; you had to use only your feet.  “But don’t you get kicked in the shins a lot?” I asked.  Gene said, “Well, sure you do.  But I figured that out.  I wear my dad’s steel-toed work boots, and I’m fearless when I play.”  He went on, “But the other guys in the neighborhood have caught on too.  Now they all wear steel-toed shoes.  That is, everyone except Georgie S.  He doesn’t have any steel-toed shoes, so he wears four-buckle arctics over his sneakers.”  Then Gene laughed.  And it was funny.  Solomon said in Proverbs 21:2, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.”  Georgie did the best that he could, but rubber boots just won’t offer much protection against steel-toed boots.  Hey, sometimes I try to justify myself before the Almighty.  But, like Georgie, it just won’t work.  God knows everything and God knows my heart.  My best plan is just to come clean before God, ask for mercy, and go God’s way.  Or I can be proud and go my own way.  But when I do, I am like Georgie trusting in his rubber boots for protection.  Good try, Georgie, good try.  And … good try, Gerald, good try.