Salty Footsteps

A confession…

Sunday morning, I was in a rush… so many last-minute details to refine before worship. I am a perfectionist in a business that defies perfection, yet that does not prevent me from rushing into the church building early on Sunday morning to attempt the impossible. In the front door, through the lobby, down the hall, and into my office… I dumped my briefcase, purse, and assorted supplies on my desk and turned to aim the remote at the heater to take the chill off the room. What I saw put me to shame. There on my lovely maroon carpet were clear footprints outlined in white salt. When I entered the building, I had been in such a rush, I did not remember to wipe my shoes at the door. Thus, the salt on the church walkway was now pressed into the carpet, one tell-tail step at a time, leading right to my office. The evidence of thoughtlessness pointed right to me. I knew what I had to do- vacuum the evidence before I was caught.

I retraced my steps back to the lobby, retrieved the vacuum from the hall utility closet, and began the painstaking work of vacuuming salt that was ground into the carpet fibers- down the hall, into my office, and across to my desk, one footprint at a time. When I turned to survey my handiwork, I discovered more footprints. How could that be? I had meticulously cleaned each mark off the carpet, yet there they were again. Have you ever been in such a rush that you do not think clearly? In that moment the light finally dawned, and I realized what you have already deduced. I was still wearing salt-caked shoes. As I cleaned, I was leaving yet another set of salty footprints. It took some effort to scrub the salt residue off the treads of my shoes after which I once again tried to erase the evidence of my early morning transgression. By the time I was done, others had already arrived. Some had tried to wipe the salt off their shoes before entering the church, others had been in a rush like me. Regardless, as more and more people entered the building, the carpet began to take on a white sheen. No longer were individual footsteps discernable, only an interesting geometry of paths etched in salt.

This Sunday morning experience left me wondering if our lives leave salty footprints. Jesus called us to be the “salt of the earth.” Jesus lived in a desert country that rarely experiences snow, so I don’t think Jesus imagined salt scattered on a pathway that would be tracked across polyester carpeting. But He did imagine our lives being lived in such a way that we would leave a trace of his salty love along our path. Do we?

This Sunday morning experience left me wondering if our lives leave salty footprints. Jesus called us to be the “salt of the earth.” Jesus lived in a desert country that rarely experiences snow, so I don’t think Jesus imagined salt scattered on a pathway that would be tracked across polyester carpeting. But He did imagine our lives being lived in such a way that we would leave a trace of his salty love along our path. Do we?

I think of a nurse who uses her valuable vacation time to travel to Honduras with Samaritan’s Purse to care for God’s little ones there. Just a little salt…

I think of the Black plague that struck Alexandria, Egypt in 1348 that stole away the lives of almost 50% of the population. The healthy fled the city, fearing the devastation of the plague, leaving their sick loved ones to fend for themselves. Yet, historians of that day record that Christians intentionally entered the city, braving the danger, to care for the sick who were left behind. Just a little salt…

I think of a man who paused the work on his driveway on Saturday to shovel out his neighbor, putting that work as his first priority. Just a little salt…

I think of Savanah Guthrie, journalist and broadcaster, who is currently on a book tour to sell her first book, Mostly What God Does. Faith has defined and shaped Guthrie’s life, but she never imagined that she would declare that faith so publicly in a book. She writes: “In my darkest times, believing in God, believing in a God who has a better world in mind, and knowing that there is a plan has helped me to contend with the ordinary heartbreaks of everyday life- the ones I experience, and the ones I bear witness to in this job,” Now her private journey is public record. Just a little salt…

I think of grandparents who gave each of their grandchildren a note this Christmas sharing how important Jesus is in their lives. With the note, came a simple book- Why Jesus, and their encouragement to take the first steps to meet Him. Just a little salt…

I think of Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs. When they won the Super Bowl this year, his first comment was to give God the glory. I wonder if we do the same. When we have a moment of victory in our lives, do we let the world know that all that we are and all that we have is a gift from our gracious Creator?

Salty footprints… Imagine how beautiful this world would be if Christians left salty footprints wherever they went, creating a geometry of love paths for the world to see. May our lives leave salty footprints that point to Jesus.

With you learning to be His salt,
Anita