Let Your Footprints Lead Somewhere Noble

20 Feb

“Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.”  ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Fossils really intrigue me.  I know when many people hear the word “fossil” they often think of animal or plant life.  Some of the fossils that have intrigued me in the most recent years are not of creatures per se but of the footprints that they left behind.  In many areas of the world, there are those who study the patterns of animals movements by examining the footprints left behind.  Often, there are not fossils of the animals to be found but their prints are there.

Looking at the prints, there are specialists who can determine what the weather patterns of that age were like.  They can tell how hot or how dry it was when the prints were made.  They can see whether the direction the prints were headed was someplace new or more on the beaten path.  From those prints, they can deduce a myriad of information about the animals or people they study.

Longfellow’s quote stirs up something inside of me regarding our leaving footprints on the sands of time.  Each of us leave a mark in this world and on the lives of others.  Each of us leave footprints to follow.  Where do they point?  That is the crucial question.

We lead others.  That is something that all of us should take into account.  By our words and deeds, we lead others in the direction we travel.  If we are on the way to the Kingdom, we will lead others in the same direction.  If, on the other hand, our footprints lead away from the Kingdom, we will lead others astray as well.

FAITH ACTION:  Make sure that your footprints lead others to good and noble ventures, that your footprints lead others to God.