Footsteps

There's this new thing that Isabella has been doing lately.  She really likes to grab our various pairs of shoes and put them on her feet.  Clunking around in shoes far too large for her is a funny thing to behold indeed!  I watch her try to take normal steps and not even be able to lift her feet from the floor.  Then, she changes approaches.  Instead of her usual big steps, she attempts to shuffle along just a few inches forward at a time.  The result is trip-step-shuffle combination that is silly and wonderful all at the same time.

A couple of days ago, however, she was beginning to do this same thing again - the putting on of a pair of my shoes - and something hit me.  Do you ever have things do that to you?  You're watching a completely normal thing, but some deeper meaning suddenly breaks through, capturing your attention and throwing your whole mind in the direction of that idea?  It happens to me pretty frequently, and this day was no exception.

How fitting is it that the child we are trying to raise in a Christ-filled home and Christ-like manner, the child who is figuratively going to follow in our footsteps, is literally wearing our shoes around the house?  It was almost overwhelming the way it became so apparent to me and the persistance with which it stuck to my heart.  I've been thinking about it ever since and the application that it should have on our lives, on my life.  This realization, this epiphany of sorts, started me thinking about my own legacy and what kind of life that I lead.  What footsteps am I taking?  What impressions am I leaving in which our daughter will follow?

Here's the thing - regardless of how I live my life, Isabella will emulate it.  Regardless of how much I sacrifice my minuscule self for my magnificent Christ or how much of my selfless Jesus I sacrifice for my selfish wants and desires, Isabella is going to see that example and shape herself into a pretty accurate reflection of the example she's seen, without even realizing it.  It's being modeled every day in our home, in our car, in our conversations, in our relationships, everywhere.  How could she not?

I suppose the question is, what am I going to do about it?  Ever since I began thinking in this direction, it's made me scared of what I say and afraid to do anything wrong.  Now, God doesn't call us to live in fear.  He doesn't want us living afraid to do or say anything because we might mess up.  He already knows we're sinful.  He already knows we're messed up.  I'm going to say and do things that I'll wish I could take back, things that I can't ever take back and things that I can't ever erase from Isabella's memory.  But this I do know - "...for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."

No matter how well I live or how badly I mess up, God will work things for good.  More importantly, God will glorify Himself.  That is His priority above anything else, anyway, so why can't He use my mistakes to teach a lesson or my own life lessons to give encouragement?  He can.  He will.  It's how He works - through His people.

"I may live and I may die, either way You're glorified.  Bless the day I give my life away."

-- Christy Nockels --