Footprints

One stanza of "A Psalm of Life," written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the 1830s, says,

Lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.

Some people leave bigger footprints than others, and I'm not talking about our present-day concern over "carbon footprints." In the U.S., we are celebrating Presidents Day today, commemorating the February birthdays of two of our particularly important forefathers: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Regardless of how revisionists have written about these men, we still honor their contributions to our country and our way of life.

Since the recent election, much has been made of perceived similarities in our new president and various previous ones. I'm not so much interested in comparing the men as the issues which the times presented. It's really true: "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9) And again, I'm not nearly as concerned with the footprints left by presidents, old and new, as the footprints that each of us are leaving for those who follow us. "Sublime" as Longfellow suggested? Maybe not, but there all the same.

Many of us have experienced walking with our big feet and long legs through sand or snow and, looking back, we have seen a much smaller person--offspring of our own or a grandchild, perhaps a nephew, niece, or the child of a friend--struggling to follow with their little feet and short legs the big prints we left behind. We need to walk slower, walk straighter, walk more faithfully.

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.

(Words and Music by Jon Mohr; popular performance by Steve Green)

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Scripture quotation is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com