Footprints! There are brand new footprints in my freshly planted garden. Granted, I only have a few plants (very few), but walking is not allowed where I’m expecting things to grow! I don’t see damage to the vegetation that is visible, but the seeds that are still under the dirt are surely displaced and maybe even ruined.
Right there, I see squirrel tracks. Obnoxious little creatures that eat all my birdseed already… what are they doing walking and digging in my garden? Over there are more tracks – looks like doves. They certainly need to waddle their round little bodies somewhere else. And this one! This one is a deep impression made by a dog – a big dog with big paws and big pawprints. He has no business leaving his prints in my garden! I don’t care if he does live here.
Of course, I am exaggerating. Nothing is really damaged, and I’m not really upset. Truth be told, I enjoy the wildlife in our yard. My husband calls it “mild life.” We have lots of different animals around, and each day I go down to the creek to see who visited the little sandbars and left tracks during the night. The animals I have actually seen range from raccoons to foxes, and the prints show possums and deer. The creek is fun to watch and apparently quite busy with life, but I never really thought about all the walkways in our yard. That didn’t become apparent until the tracks in the newly turned dirt, and they made me wonder about some things.
The dog only had one print. I can imagine he was walking where he always walked, stepped into the soft dirt, and (smart as he is) stepped back to walk another way. The squirrel prints were only to the one spot where the digging happened and then back out to the grass. Maybe I displaced some of their hidden treasure. The doves were probably just looking for food. No hidden agendas there.
If my daily tracks were so readily apparent, I wonder what they would show. Would I appear smart to someone else? Productive? Scattered? As a Christian, would my steps be made with purpose, and could you see that I backed away when I felt I was headed where I should not go? As a pastor, would my path be transparent or would I walk through hidden agendas? Would my prints lead to impressions of my knees where I had stopped to pray – maybe digging in with God for some treasures? Oh, how I long for good walkways!
All you who serve the Lord: bless the Lord right now! All you who minister in the Lord’s house at night: bless God! Lift up your hands to the sanctuary and bless the Lord! May the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion. (Psalm 134, CEB) The psalmist uses a word that may be interpreted either bless or praise. It would be appropriate to read: praise the Lord, praise God… and may the Lord bless you.
As I move through my days, my prayer is that I praise God with a lifetime of footprints that lead people to Jesus who blesses each one.
Making tracks,
Pastor Beth
Right there, I see squirrel tracks. Obnoxious little creatures that eat all my birdseed already… what are they doing walking and digging in my garden? Over there are more tracks – looks like doves. They certainly need to waddle their round little bodies somewhere else. And this one! This one is a deep impression made by a dog – a big dog with big paws and big pawprints. He has no business leaving his prints in my garden! I don’t care if he does live here.
Of course, I am exaggerating. Nothing is really damaged, and I’m not really upset. Truth be told, I enjoy the wildlife in our yard. My husband calls it “mild life.” We have lots of different animals around, and each day I go down to the creek to see who visited the little sandbars and left tracks during the night. The animals I have actually seen range from raccoons to foxes, and the prints show possums and deer. The creek is fun to watch and apparently quite busy with life, but I never really thought about all the walkways in our yard. That didn’t become apparent until the tracks in the newly turned dirt, and they made me wonder about some things.
The dog only had one print. I can imagine he was walking where he always walked, stepped into the soft dirt, and (smart as he is) stepped back to walk another way. The squirrel prints were only to the one spot where the digging happened and then back out to the grass. Maybe I displaced some of their hidden treasure. The doves were probably just looking for food. No hidden agendas there.
If my daily tracks were so readily apparent, I wonder what they would show. Would I appear smart to someone else? Productive? Scattered? As a Christian, would my steps be made with purpose, and could you see that I backed away when I felt I was headed where I should not go? As a pastor, would my path be transparent or would I walk through hidden agendas? Would my prints lead to impressions of my knees where I had stopped to pray – maybe digging in with God for some treasures? Oh, how I long for good walkways!
All you who serve the Lord: bless the Lord right now! All you who minister in the Lord’s house at night: bless God! Lift up your hands to the sanctuary and bless the Lord! May the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion. (Psalm 134, CEB) The psalmist uses a word that may be interpreted either bless or praise. It would be appropriate to read: praise the Lord, praise God… and may the Lord bless you.
As I move through my days, my prayer is that I praise God with a lifetime of footprints that lead people to Jesus who blesses each one.
Making tracks,
Pastor Beth