However, there have been times in my life that things were so bad that I just wanted to disappear from life altogether. Not in the sense that I wanted “end it all”, but rather, I just wanted to go as far away as I could. Wherever the night will fall, I would start a new life and get a fresh start. Now these were just fleeting thoughts and at no time was I serious about wanting to really do that. They were just thoughts going through my head. I have lived long enough to know that you cannot run away from the problems in your life. They will always find you. What I have learned from these thoughts is that for whatever reason, whether it be due to bad choices we have made in our lives, disappointment, hurt, anger, regret, pain or loss we all want to remove ourselves from the things and people who caused us such problems. It is a common feeling. The idea of getting a second chance and starting over is a strong force to be reckoned with. But ultimately, no matter how hard we try, we cannot change the events and the trouble from our past.
I am reminded of the powerful influence that my family and friends had on me while I was growing up. I am a “momma’s girl” and I have always acknowledged that. Apart from my relationship with Jesus Christ, my mother’s influence on me has been the single most important factor in making me into the person I would become. She left an imprint on my life. A “footprint” if you will. This “footprint” that she gave has been evident all my life. I can honestly say that if there is any thing “good” in me I have no doubt that it came from my mother.
As I head into my future, I realize that there have been other “footprints” that have influenced me and left their “mark” on me as I look back on my life. They would leave a legacy of influence. This “legacy” that was passed on to me would lay a foundation on the person I would become. My father left a footprint that has made me want to be a better friend. My dad left a footprint of a good work ethic. My sister, a footprint of being true to your core beliefs of fairness and equality. My brother, that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind and heart into it. These are the positive footprints that I choose to focus on and take away from their influence on my life. However, there are “footprints” that have been left in my life that have not been good. A legacy of anger, failure, disappointment, hurt and loss have all been part of my life. I am finding out that there has always been an influence from those that make up my past. As much as I would like to, I cannot simply erase the bad influences by simply wanting to run away from them. They will stay with me until the day I die. The goal is to focus on the good influences and put away the bad.
The evidence of a life lived is witnessed by the scars we carry. These scars can be emotional, physical and more importantly spiritual. We are scarred from events that have caused us pain or hurt in our lives. We could be scarred by the way we were raised or by disappointments that have come our way in life. Scars are reminders of the result of the choices we have made and some by the choices of others. The deepest and most painful scars are those that others cannot see. Many of them are “earned” and self-inflicted, some are not. The bottom line is that scars are a part of life. It is what you do with them that is important. You can choose to use them as motivation to do better or you can use them as an excuse to do nothing. I am constantly reminded that the scars that are evident in my life are there to point me to Christ. They are reminders of what can happen again if I take my eyes off the Lord.
My prayer is that for the rest of my life that I will leave a legacy of faithfulness and love for Christ in the footprints I leave behind.
The question is, what will be the legacy of the footprints you leave behind?
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