Where are you bound? Do you belong… but, where? Here? Anywhere? Where’s home? Or, are you just passing through…? If your attitude, because it is an attitude, that you are only passing through, then what kind of footprint are you making? And again, yes – you always leave a footprint. Or perhaps the question should be, regardless of location – what is your footprint? Can you look back and see your footprints in the sand or your wake?
There’s a lovely ‘footprint’ mini-story about someone who dies and when they go to heaven, they questions Jesus about why, since He said He would never leave us, are there times in which the tracks only show one pair of footprints. The answer Jesus gives is that those were the times He was carrying the person. I really do love that and I really do believe this. I know that in my life, there are times that the only explanation is that I am being carried.
The ‘footprint’ concept is currently very popular, especially for those concerned about ecology/environment/climate. There is a footprint we have and do make in terms of their concern, but there’s also a footprint we have and make when it comes to our relationships. Do you know who you are in other peoples’ lives? Do you recognize those who have made a footprint in yours? How do you assess the influence of those footprints, what kind of difference have they made? Were you aware when they happened? Do you see how the footprints made in your life have provided a model for you? Who has made the most significant footprint for you – are you a better person as a result?
Does your footprint in other peoples’ lives demonstrate who you want to be, and who you truly are? What are your footprint qualities – correction, kindness, helpfulness, patience, willfulness, argumentativeness, long-suffering… there are a host of adjectives that can describe your footprint. But, do you see your footprint in their lives and the ramifications this made? And in whose life have you had the most influence… are they a better person? Regardless, remember that you may have provided the witness but you have no authority to make their decision(s). Ultimately it is up to each of us to apply or ignore the footprints made by others. Footprints.
