Grace My Feet

I’ll walk with grace my feet, and faith my eyes. –Derek Webb

A few nights ago I found myself on the Appalachian Trial at about 11 pm. This was not by accident and it was not unplanned, it just happened to be one of those moments when, caught in time, you wish you could suspend the passage of it, and soak in the mountain vista, the fresh night air, the stars, handcrafted above for God’s glory and our amazement.

Walking back to our car that night I found myself without a flashlight and relying solely upon the light carried in front of me. That was fine. I followed the footsteps of the guy ahead. Watched closely his feet as they navigated the rocks and crevices in the dimness of that small light. And it felt good. Felt good to have someone go before. Someone who tripped a couple times, but kept going.

Sometimes it’s good to the be follower. I’m generally the leader. Or at least the “facilitator.” (That’s the trendy things in education now, to be the facilitator of learning, and since I’m young and trendy I guess that makes me a facilitator, not a leader) But anyway, I generally find that in my life outside of school I like to step back and let other people lead/facilitate. I like to be able to follow someone else’s footsteps, rather than being the one to lay the tracks.

And yet it makes me thankful. Had I not had footsteps to follow all of my life, how could I be in this place today. And as I’ve been reading through the books of Genesis and Exodus, being more and more confronted with the failures of our faith’s forefathers, I see ever more clearly that its not always about having a perfect guide to follow. Sometimes we do not see. Sometimes the light is dim or the air is cloudy and all we can perceive is a rough shape in front. As the Scripture says we perceive very dimly. And yet the day will come when we see face to face. When finally time shall be suspended. When that exquisite mountain vista, that moment of pure joy is a state of permanence. I’m looking forward to someday seeing the One I am following. But in the meantime, I’ll join the throng of others who are following Him with me. We may fall at times, we may lose sight of the goal, but we’ll keep in step. And by grace we'll hear the words "well done" at the end of our journey.