HTML clipboard There were NO footprints in the snow today. And little wonder! The previous morning we had received 4 inches of the wettest, slushiest snow possible, then it warmed up to a few degrees above freezing, and the precipitation turned to rain. After raining for several hours, the snow became wet, slipper mounds, and then the temperatures plummeted to –10º C, freezing everything into solid, icy ridges. No, those slippery mounds would NOT leave footprints today! In fact, ice skates would have probably been safer footwear than my jogging shoes.

But since stubbornness has always been one of my strongest character traits (though some may call it “stupidness!”), I slipped and slid my way around the cemetery anyway. I DID stop after one round though, but only because my dog couldn’t even stand up straight. It was the first time she had ever NOT enjoyed the cemetery!

As I completed my circle, I realized that there were one or two places where a light laying of snow had worked its way into some of the groves. If I stepped in these places just right, a tiny footprint DID appear!

“Okay, Lord!” I mumbled, “I thought You had already taught me everything that footprints could teach!” But as I said the words, the newest lesson was already flooding across my mind. Sometimes, even when I am following God’s lead and shining for Jesus, I still don’t leave behind any “Jesus” footprints. Why? Because the hearts I am interacting with aren’t right for receiving them! They are too hard, the minds, too closed!

So why bother?

Because there WERE times today when I DID succeed in leaving tiny imprints in the snow! Just so, we never know when seemingly “closed” minds might open up, even a little. We never know, friends, when our actions and deeds for Christ will INDEED leave a tiny impression that might be built on later!

Kind of reminds you of the story of the sower, doesn’t it? He didn’t pay any attention to the condition of the ground. He just tossed seed! As a Christian, my job is to “stomp out Jesus footprints” EVERYWHERE I go, by constantly living my life so that people can see Jesus in me. Sometimes, however, despite my efforts, people still won’t see Him, and that’s okay. I still have to keep “stomping”, for I never know when a seemingly closed heart might receive a tiny “Jesus” footprint . . .

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Mt 5:16)

Lyn Chaffart

(To access the entire “Footprints in the Snow” devotional series, please click here.)