Footprints in the Sand

Happy Wednesday, y’all! I wrote this devotion after a trip to Hawaii to visit with family. I hope you enjoy, and it inspires you.

Footprints in the Sand

We walk along the water’s edge, watching the foam from the waves rush up, attempting to capture the sand, then fall back to join the blue ocean water. Our heads down, we look in the sand for shells or coral unbroken by the battering waves. I stoop to examine a piece of elkhorn coral broken from the reef 200 yards offshore.

Scott has continued walking and I observe his footprints. Here at the water’s edge his foot sinks several inches into the soft, wet sand, leaving a deep impression. But only for a moment.

Then the hungry waves rush onto the beach, carrying sand back with it into the waves. The deep imprints of his footprints instantly fade to a small indentation in the beach. Another wave sweeps ashore, totally obliterating his footprints. It’s as if he had never walked along this beach. Here for only a moment, his footprints are totally erased from the sandy beach.

The Bible reminds us that we are on this earth for but a moment, like flowers that wither and grass that fades away. I Peter 1:24 and 25 come to mind as I watch the waves erase his footprints in the sand. Once we’ve gone from this earth our memories last for a time, but then are slowly washed away until new generations walk the sands of life, leaving their own brief footprints.

I think about how I’ve spent my short time on this earth. Have I done anything of lasting significance? Have I lived my life so that it affects someone else for eternity? My time is fleeting. I must keep my eyes on the eternal, for the footprints quickly wash away.

I Peter 1:24, 25 “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field, the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

Oh God, keep my eyes on the spiritual, eternal things of life. May the path I walk leave footprints to help others to know your eternal power, loving-kindness, and saving grace.