Lesson in the Muddy Footprints

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How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news…Isaiah: 52-7

I love the hint of spring that teases us in mid-March here in Michigan. It’s been a long, cold winter and I’m excited to feel the temperatures shifting up the thermometer a bit. The only down side to March warmth is March mud! YUCK! If I make it to heaven I’m really going to have to ask God exactly what He was thinking when He created mosquitos and mud! In no way do they enrich my life or bring me closer to Him…so…what’s the point?

The other day when the snow finally started the big melt Dave asked me to come out to the barn and give him a hand with something. I was in a hurry so I just threw on some old tennis shoes and trotted off down the driveway toward the barn. I got about half-way there and realized there was no dry ground, only one giant puddle. I tried to tip-toe over to the highest ground but I was still up to my shoe laces in mud. My right foot went down but as I tried to walk forward that foot didn’t come with me. I was stuck! One mighty tug left my shoe in the mud and my sock ahead of me in the water. If I had been a child I probably would have thought the whole thing was hilarious but as an adult…not so much.

When I finally got my shoe pulled up out of the goopy mud I had to laugh at the footprint I left behind. I quickly shoved the muddy shoe back on knowing I couldn’t do any more damage to my sock and hurried on to the barn to help Dave. When I had finished and I passed back by my footprint, it was almost completely filled in with muddy water again. It made me think about my faith footprint. How deep is it? How long will it last? How many will I leave behind? Hmm, maybe God did have a point with the mud!

If we stop and think of all the places our feet take us in a month and all the people we come in contact with, it doesn’t take a genius to discover that’s a lot of people and places. What if we left a faith footprint on most of those people? What if we did or said something in all of those places to all of those people to share the good news of Jesus’ love for us? If that seems too overwhelming back it up and imagine the outcome if we did it only half of the time…that’s still an amazingly large number of people who would see or hear about Jesus. If I had stepped right back in that muddy footprint in the driveway it would have stayed longer. If I did it again and again it might even become permanent. The same can be true with our faith footprint. Beginning to establish that footprint could be as simple as a bumper sticker, jewelry or a t-shirt with a Christian message or symbol. You might say God bless you when someone sneezes or pray in public before you eat. It all begins when we find a way to start the conversation. If doing one or two simple things like that over and over is all it takes to create deep and lasting faith footprints, can you imagine how the world would change?

It’s funny the things that run through your mind as you try to pry your tennis shoe out of the mud! The important thing is now that I have the thought; I need to get busy doing something with it. Off I go to make some faith footprints; won’t you join me?

A Seed To Plant: Make at least five intentional decisions to leave a faith footprint this week.

Blessings on your day!