What's In Your Wake

​Indeed, mercy and goodness will follow me all the days of my life…Psalm 23:6

It’s hard to believe that we’re already slidin into the last bit of July! It’s been a lovely summer and I love all the great summer things there are to do in this beautiful lake dotted state.  A few weeks ago, I was sitting by a lake watching a beach full of swimmers and dozens of boats pulling skiers and tubers. One thing the boats had in common was no matter how big or small they were, they left a wake.  I spent a long time peacefully watching the waves from the wake make their way to shore.  I hadn’t thought much about that afternoon until last weekend when one of the readings was from Psalm 23.  Someone wise once told me that at the beginning of each Mass or service, ask God for at least one nugget to take home.  I don’t always remember to take that good advice but last Sunday morning I did and verse 6 of the 23rd Psalm was that nugget.

That one line jumped into my ears and stuck in my mind like glue!  I thought about it all day and then I remembered the day at the lake and the wakes from the boat.  I gave the Psalm, and the boat wakes some thought and realized there was a lesson.  As a boat moves through the water with any speed at all, a wake is unavoidable and that wake spreads and touches many things.  I suppose what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me was we are just the same.  As we pass through life and go in and out of people’s lives, we too leave a wake.  What we do and say spreads farther and touches more than we know.  In this one verse, God reminded me what should follow me and what I should be leaving in my wake…mercy and goodness.
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A boat never looks behind and once the wake has been set in motion, there is no taking it back…it just keeps speeding along.  Sometimes the wake can be a lot of fun for the tubers or skiers but sometimes the wake can be harmful or hurtful.  I had to stop and think about what I leave in my wake.  We all leave a wake and quite often, like the boat, we aren’t even aware of what’s happening behind us.  I thought about people in the same aisle of the grocery store…what do I leave in my wake as I speed to the end of the row?  Since the number of places we leave a wake is large, it just might be our biggest opportunity to grow in holiness and discipleship.  I wondered how many times I have sped by people so fast I didn’t even notice the person that needed a little help or encouragement or even a simple smile.  How many people do I leave in my wake unnoticed who simply needed someone to acknowledge them?  This Psalm did a great job of describing what we should be leaving in our wake…mercy and goodness. The Father is so fancy isn’t He!  Heaven doesn’t depend on giant things like building an orphanage or feeding a village.  Thank goodness He makes it simpler than that.  Mercy is love in action and goodness is the definition of the thoughts and actions of Jesus.  That’s what we should be leaving in our wake.  I think I’ll spend some time paying attention to what I leave behind instead of being so worried about charging full speed ahead.
 
A Seed To Plant:  Pray about your wake and pay attention to those who leave good things in their wake…let’s see if we can’t make a difference before summer ends.

Blessings on your day