Pastor's Note

TRACKS IN THE SNOW
February 18th, 2007

On a recent Sunday I went for a walk in the freshly-fallen snow. In the field and adjacent woods, I came upon various animal tracks. I’m certainly not an expert tracker, but I was able to discern tracks of deer, rabbits, and dogs. There were other markings, too, but I wasn’t sure what animals they belonged to.
Probably most of those animals had passed that way up to twelve or more hours before I came along. Yet their tracks remained.
We don’t always see the tracks of those people who have traveled through our lives. At least, their tracks are not left in the snow. However, they do leave signs of their passing by.
The tracks of other people are often embedded in our hearts or in our behaviors. We pick up many qualities from others: loyalty, love, commitment, and compassion, to name a few. As others travel into our lives, they leave tracks of their presence.
Faith is never really a private thing. It may be personally experienced and uniquely expressed. Nonetheless, its very presence makes itself known to those around us. The tracks of our faith cross many people’s lives.
With or without snow on the ground, it is good once in a while to reflect on the ‘tracks’ of goodness that are left by those who have traveled our way.