The fireplace flames danced a warm presence to our family in the living room as we watched the snow quietly pass our windows and pile up around our home. The softness of the accumulation muffles the inherent noises of traffic, and hides the attempts of outside sources to interfere with our solitude.
After a time, we needed to take out some trash and I had to first sweep an initial start to the shoveling towards to where the trash can was. While out working the snow removal, I saw some tracks in the snow. Something evidently had been there. It looked like a couple of sets of bird tracks, and another set of cat prints. Since I used my heightened detective resources, I concluded the tracks were caused by some birds and a cat……….. But since the storm was not over, I knew they would be covered up again anyway.
The snow kept falling, and I heard a knock at the door. Friends had decided to stop by and bring hot soup and some sandwiches to eat. As I closed the door after inviting them in, I saw the tracks they left coming to my door. Those tracks represented MY friends, coming to visit me and bring cheer! The tracks weren’t my friends, it just meant my friends stopped by. And the snow kept falling……..
Later, when saying good by to my friends, I saw deer tracks near a corner of my house. And I also saw human prints in the snow at my porch where our US Mail employee had walked up and placed a package on my porch. I didn’t see that person, but the tracks were EVIDENCE that a person did them.
And so with our lives. As people come and go through our daily walks, they leave tracks not in the snow but upon us literally…… The acts of kindness, the reassuring shoulder that’s available when times gets tough, and the instances where someone will just devote a measure of valuable time out of their busy schedules, have made tracks across our minds and our hearts. The impacts can be profound.
The way we are today is a testament of how the Lord made imprints on our lives as time went by. But the invisible tracks of family and friends have left marks, too. They have made us better, stronger, more beat up, more sensitive, more giving, more sad, more grateful, more loved, more misunderstood, etc. When we think of the ones who made the biggest impacts, let us consider that the Lord was THERE when the other tracks were made. He guided them and he guided us. There are NO accidents in life. God directs the cosmos with celestial precision, and our individuality is no different. Not only do others leave tracks across our hearts, we leave tracks upon others in our lives.
During the storms of life, some tracks get covered up over time and forgotten. So, frequency of our calls, texts, letters, and/or visits can mean the world to others, just like their visits to us. And we can’t forget time that we spend in prayer with God for others that are in our sphere of influence. Tracks are everywhere. Remember, don’t let them get covered up so you can’t see them anymore……
“Lord, thank You for giving snow. The beautiful substance has revealed a precious lesson that we can deeply learn from. Impress upon our hearts, Lord; to keep in contact with those around us. And thank You for allowing the paths to cross where Your direction is evident. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”