Footsteps

I would like to talk to you today about the

sound of footsteps. A baby learns to

recognize his mother’s approaching

steps, and immediately he is comforted.

A small boy hears his father’s steps

coming home in the late evening and

rushes to greet him. What fear must fill

the heart of the man on death row as the

footsteps echo near on the day of

execution. What joy arises in the mother’s

heart as she hears the steps of a wayward

child returning home.

There have been times when I had been

engrossed in my work and did not hear

the approach of a footstep even though it

were the steps of one, I wished to engage.

Suddenly that person passes by. I rush

into the hall only to find that person

already entering another room. The door

closed and the opportunity for the

present was gone.

When my son had cancer, Dale spoke of

the many times the doctors at the

Veteran’s Hospital in Ann Arbor would

stop him in the halls for prayer. How

important that we recognize the steps of

Christ in our life. Do not let the present

love of this world allow His footsteps to

fade in the distance. And may I never slip

into the place where I am not stirred

when someone talks of his coming again.

Father, renew our hearts with fresh love

as we hear your footsteps moving in our

lives today.

Amen.