{"id":108,"date":"2014-07-08T02:25:03","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T02:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/?p=108"},"modified":"2014-09-13T04:19:04","modified_gmt":"2014-09-13T04:19:04","slug":"lifes-footprints-evanescent-or-indelible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/?p=108","title":{"rendered":"Life’s Footprints: Evanescent or Indelible?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Footprints<\/a>

Footprints in the Sand<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cOne\u2019s options in this world are as vast as the horizon, which is technically a circle and thus infinitely broad. Yet we must choose each step we take with utmost caution, for the footprints we leave behind are as important as the path we will follow. They\u2019re part of the same journey \u2014 our story.\u201d
\n\u2015\u00a0<\/strong>Lori R. Lopez<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

===================================<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that’s what we all want, in the end.
\nTo know that we left footprints when we passed by, however briefly.
\nWe want to be remembered.
\nSo remember us.
\nPlease.
\nRemember us.\u201d
\n\u2015\u00a0<\/strong>Mike A. Lancaster<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

===================================<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Your way was through the sea,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

your path through the great waters;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

yet your footprints were unseen.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

~Psalm 77:19 (ESV)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

==================================<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Evanescent<\/a>

Evanescent Footprints<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Life is a journey, and the footprints that we leave behind are interesting things.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/strong>Each footprint is different, and there are no two that are alike.\u00a0 Wherever we go, we leave footprints behind us.\u00a0 Some people leave big footprints, and some leave small footprints.\u00a0 There are others who leave wide footprints, and those who leave narrow ones.\u00a0 Sometimes the footprints we leave are evanescent, quickly fading, just as the footprints left in the sand are soon erased away by time and the force of the waves.<\/p>\n

Some footprints are long lasting.\u00a0 Those are the kind of footprints that people should be striving to achieve.\u00a0 The home we currently live in is an older one, but it is special because it\u2019s the first home we\u2019ve owned.\u00a0 The subdivision where our home resides was developed in the mid to late 1970\u2019s, making our home nearly 40 years old.\u00a0 Besides having a wide and inviting front porch to relax on, the hominess of this house beckoned us to it when we first found it four years ago.\u00a0 In a way, our home is unique because we purchased it from the original owners who had it built many years ago.\u00a0 Although the house had sat empty for quite some time when we first looked at it, there was a sense of love and belonging that permeated the walls, and we could feel it when we first walked in the door.\u00a0 In fact, when we first looked at the home, I almost imagined that I could hear the voices of the family who lived, loved, and laughed in the home for more than 32 years before we bought it.\u00a0 It was a house that was well loved and continues to be loved by us.<\/p>\n

\"Footprint<\/a>

Footprint in the sidewalk on the side of my house<\/p><\/div>\n

When the neighborhood was developed, sidewalks were planned and built up and down every street in the neighborhood for pedestrians to use.\u00a0 One can travel to any part of the neighborhood using these sidewalks.\u00a0 On the side of our home facing the driveway, we noticed that there were tiny little footprints of a long gone child permanently embedded into the sidewalk.\u00a0 My wife and I thought that these footprints were just about the coolest thing we\u2019d ever seen, and I often found myself wondering how these footprints had come to be in the sidewalk, and who had made them.\u00a0 Two of my neighbors directly across the street have been here since the neighborhood\u2019s inception in the 1970\u2019s.\u00a0 One day I happened to be outside when one of my neighbors was walking her dog, and I just so happened to think about asking her if she knew the story of the footprints.\u00a0 She indeed knew how the footprints came to be and proceeded to tell me the story of a little boy who had grown up in the neighborhood many years before. This little boy apparently lived in the house next to mine when they were pouring the sidewalk.\u00a0 She told me that before anyone could stop him, he pulled his shoes off and walked through the freshly poured cement, forever immortalizing the prints of his tiny feet.\u00a0 My guess is that they either didn’t catch the fruits of his labor before the cement dried, or they thought it was cute and left it as it was.\u00a0 I suppose his mother was not amused at all on that day many years ago to find out that her child had cement all over his feet.\u00a0 The footprints don\u2019t go far.\u00a0 They actually start a short distance up from my house and then terminate almost directly in front of my driveway.\u00a0 But they\u2019re still there nearly 40 years later, and tell the journey of a small boy who one day took a walk down the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

\"Footprints<\/a>

Footprints made in the sidewalk by a little boy nearly 40 years ago<\/p><\/div>\n

Even though the mystery of the footprints has been solved, I have often wondered about that little boy.\u00a0 Where did he go when he moved, and whatever ended up happening to him?\u00a0 What did he grow up to become?\u00a0 Does he remember the footprints he once left in my sidewalk, and has he ever returned to see them?\u00a0 You see, whether he knew it or not, he was destined to leave permanent footprints on that fateful day when he decided to go for a stroll in the freshly poured cement of the sidewalk.\u00a0 These are footprints that can still clearly be seen nearly 40 years later, and they cause people to stop and ponder where they came from.<\/p>\n

The evanescence of footprints left in the sand pose a stark contrast to the enduring footprints of those left in stone.\u00a0 In our lives, we leave many footprints.\u00a0 Everywhere we go we leave footprints.\u00a0 These footprints tell the journey from whence we have come and to whither we go.\u00a0 They tell the story of what we have done and of what we have achieved.\u00a0 We also leave footprints in the lives of people.\u00a0 In the scope of eternity, our time here on earth amounts to the mere blink of an eye.\u00a0 But like the footprints left by the child in the newly built sidewalk many years ago, the foot prints we leave in the lives of people should be long lasting.\u00a0 After you have left your footprints behind, you may never return to see them again.\u00a0 If you have left footprints that are indelible, they will no doubt be felt and seen by many for generations to come.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, life is too short for us to be concerned with those things that are of transient nature.\u00a0 Whether it is the relationships that you form with others, or the things that you choose to occupy your time with, let your mark be seen and felt.\u00a0 In my own life, I am grateful for those who have invested in me and left permanent footprints in my life.\u00a0 Some of them are no longer here, but their footprints continue to be seen and felt by me.\u00a0 May your footprints be forever and a day, and may they leave a lasting mark in the lives of all those you will meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.\u201d
\n\u2015\u00a0Flavia Weedn<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Much love and Godspeed,<\/p>\n

Stephen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOne\u2019s options in this world are as vast as the horizon, which is technically a circle and thus infinitely broad. Yet we must choose each step we take with utmost caution, for the footprints we leave behind are as important … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-random-thoughts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=108"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128,"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions\/128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/canoe.stephencoleman.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}