Footprints

 

Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.  Matthew 4:19

I drove past the school playground yesterday and noticed a couple things missing.  Since yesterday was our 7th snow day since Christmas, missing thing number one was obviously the children but the second missing thing was more subtle.  Footprints; there were no little boot prints, no half-done snowmen, and not a single snow angel.  The snow was just…there!  It was a bit of a sad sight and if that snow could talk it would have no story to tell, no tales of laughter and excitement and the squealing joy of all the little people who had been there and left their mark.  It made me stop and think about the story left behind with our footprints. Each of us leaves a footprint where we go and I have to wonder just what our story is all about.

 I was thinking about those footprints in the snow while I was washing dishes last night and heard a commercial on the radio about reducing our carbon footprint on the earth.  I’m not entirely sure what that means but I know leaving that kind of footprint isn’t a good thing. The whole footprint thing just kind of snowballed and this morning, a bookmark fell out of one of my prayer books. It was a dog eared torn out page from an old daily devotional book.  The words I had circled said, “What kind of faith footprint are you leaving for people to follow?” Humm…good question!

We can tell a lot from a footprint.  Footprints can be helpful. The hunters in my family use animal footprints to seek and track.  Footprints can be precious. One year for mother’s day we made plaster stepping stones with the kid’s footprints and what mother doesn’t treasure the newborn footprint taken  right after her baby is born.  Footprints can be alarming. Our house was broken into once and I could tell immediately the muddy footprints across my kitchen floor did not belong to anyone in my family.  I guess footprints are a pretty big deal when you stop and think about it. I suppose that’s why the line about our faith footprint just stuck with me.

If someone was tracking us, where would our footprints lead them?  To the refrigerator, the tv, the computer?   Do our footprints ever lead folks to a place that isn’t gonna get them to heaven? How often do our footprints lead to a quiet place of prayer or to a place of joyful worship?  Do our footprints lead others to places of kindness and service? I wonder how often our footprints lead the way through tough situations demonstrating faithful strength and perseverance.  Are we strong enough to leave footprints as we walk away from a conversation or an activity that will tear someone down instead of lifting them up?  Do our footprints ever lead us toe to toe with wrong and rotten and pass through courageously or do they skirt around it taking the easier path?

I suppose those are the kind of things that determine the faith footprint we leave behind. I hope we leave more faith footprints; in fact I hope we leave so many this world begins to look like a snowy school playground after recess!

A Seed To Plant: Stop for a few minutes and think about all the places you have left your footprint during the past week.  If you discover you need to leave some footprints in a new direction…lift it up in prayer and be on your way!

Blessings on your day!