I was watching a documentary about the newly discovered 23,000 year-old human footprints found on the dried up Lake Otera in White Sands, New Mexico.
Each animal track and human footprint is locked in the sediment, telling the story of these sojourners. Their pressure points and indentations uncover the hidden messages of each animal/person going in different directions in wet and slippery conditions. One set of prints depicts how a smaller adult person, probably female, had carried a child when crossing paths with a giant sloth, put the child down, and carried it again. These travelers were not alone. The child was being carried through and away from danger. Astonishing!
How apt is this picture of how our dissapointments leave imprints, our heartaches stamp pressure points, and our betrayals carve imbedded scars into our lives. These “footprints” tell the story of our travels through life. We leave imprinted legacies for our children and grandchildren to decipher.
Are our footprints a trustworthy map to follow, or do they lead others into a wilderness?
I’m reminded of the poem by Carolyn Joyce Carty, Footprints. The last stanza reads, “Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. However, I noticed that during the most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most, you would leave me. The Lord replied, my precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you during your times of trial and suffering. When you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
What story do your footprints tell?
Footsteps of Jesus
Sweetly Lord have we heard thee calling, “Come follow Me!”
And we see where thy footprints falling, lead us to thee.
Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus wher – e’r. they go.