I enjoyed my trip again to Florida. It entailed a great wedding in Sarasota; walks at a marina which brought back many memories of my dad and his marina. There was a lot of the family celebrating and playing games. We ate like kings and queens. We visited Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, and our past homestead in Naples. We walked beaches and collected sea shells, sand dollars and washed up hardened coral.
“Down there” it is different than “up here” because of the vast difference in cleanliness. People are always manicuring properties; and things just seem less trashy than “up here”.
One of my greatest enjoyments of the entire trip was my eye witness to a story that is related to a couple of biblical stories! Everywhere on this planet people are experiencing this biblical story but very, very few can see or even recognize that it is happening right in front of them! This story is better explained if I first give you a word picture of the exact opposite of what many, many people DO SEE.
Many people look at their surroundings like I described above and see beauty in cleanliness; and so many people have almost become nuts about reducing or saving the planet from things associated with what is called the ” carbon foot print”.
“A carbon footprint is historically defined as the total emissions caused by an individual, event, organisation, or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent. Wikipedia”
I have attached a couple of images I got off the web about this subject! It is incredible how these people think; and what they can do to fix a world God designed with necessary carbon. Extreme emotions burn inside many of these passionate people about this subject and they have designed images (like trademarks or warning sign awareness) to display their passion and thoughts! One actually says, “Souls Projects”. I believe I can assume that it represents “the passion” of “saving lives” (the physical life). But, the words themselves go deeper, much deeper! Why? Because there are so many people who think, walk, talk and get involved with their entire being at helping “preserve the planet” and yet have absolutely nothing on their mind, heart of efforts at helping themselves “WITH THEIR SOULS”!
These images, trademarks or symbols bring recognition about helping the planet; but, it drove me to see the absolute opposite! I saw my footprints in the glorious white sand of God’s creation and every step he gave me I saw the beauty he designed and created for my enjoyment. But, that was just one of the foot prints to the pair everywhere I went. See like those symbols about “human efforts” in trying to bring recognition to the world I saw scripture that brought recognition to God! I saw scripture in the second foot print! God says that the Holy Spirit witnessed Jesus in everything! Likewise the Holy Spirit walked right there with me during so much of that trip. God actually showed me an ENTIRE prophetic bible prophecy in real life (with a current event verses an O.T. story) unfold right in front of my eyes! The story was more visible than when my feet were making impressions in the sand! See, those foot prints I made were washed away almost immediately as if I was never there. But during this visit I saw footprints that were laid years ago and will never be washed away by someone else. I witnessed someone actually seeing those footprints that I saw; yet, they did not and she was following them. It was awesome! It by far was the most enjoyable part of the trip. To help you understand better what kind of footprints I saw you need to know two stories in the bible. One story is how Jesus explains how all of heaven rejoycies when that lost sheep is brought back to the flock safely! Think of the smile on Jesus’ face. Think about his heart! Now add a little more to that overwhelming thought. Add the thought of the father’s heart when the prodigal son came back home, not the prodigal son part. Just imagine the smile and joy of that father!
That father had walked his sons’ entire lives putting large impressions in the soil (soul). Those were also like road maps of where their house is located, where and who had provided and loved them since birth! Those father’s foot prints were “soul projects” (yes, may plagerism but there is not “TM” symbol and this is 180° different use of the phrase) also. Every step since birth that the father made were the ever lasting kind of foot prints. Sometimes our kids find the hand prints next to where we fell but the foot prints continued. Godly parents have to make lasting foot prints, not temporary ones. Fathers find food, clothes and those other things for simple living that all get washed away. But those foot prints that the heart and the soul can see are always there. I may not have ever walked the moon but to my kids I think I can say if any of my children were on the moon they would see my foot prints beside them. What is really cool is me getting to see another father’s foot prints beside his daughter’s freshly made ones where he had never walked either.
This young lady traveled the world probably making a million steps in places I care nothing about. Those countries are poor, the culture is crazy, many have no respect for life even as so much as animals. Every country I heard about she traveled to spits in God’s face. They hate God! Now go back to the father of the prodigal son. What kind of face did he have when his son left? How sad he must have been! If the son had left and told his dad before leaving that he wished his neighbor had been his dad, how sad and upset do you think a human father could become? What if it were possible for a human father to have 1,000 children and every single one of them hated their father who loved them and provided so much for them while growing up? What about a father with a billion sons? Jesus is the father of every living human; but billions have chosen to run away! When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane he was thinking of all his creation that was rejecting his fatherly love and spitting in his face calling him a horrible dad and a liar!? All humans, basically, were considered either Jews or Gentiles which were all lost! The Jews rejected El that came in the flesh as Jesus and the Gentiles were worshipping false gods The father of the prodigal son had just one ( 1 ) that rejected him! Jesus had already experienced the entire world rejecting him twice before. Once it was Adam and Eve (in the garden) then at the flood of Noah. Crying buckets of tears is nothing until you cry out of all of your skin! Jesus had the power and authority to “just say the word” and he could have made all the animals come to his rescue and all the angels in commanding them to “retrieve” any child like an escaped convict. Jesus could have said young man you are my son even though you treat me as a dog and call me a liar and curse my name but you will not go and do as you please! The North Korean dictator demands at gun point worship, honor, loyalty, fatherly praise and allegiance or death. Jesus does not do that. This father did not do that. All fathers wished they had that power every now and then but know a free will of love is what their foot prints scream each time we make an impression. Children that come back “freely” to the father’s love is incredibly wonderful! It is so difficult to watch them leave but how sweet it is to see them return! Jesus makes foot prints for every one to see and they have never washed away. Many run to all parts of the earth to rid themselves of them. Some do not even know why they left but they went freely! I saw a sweet daughter return freely! Jesus forces nobody! But a father who forces love is not a “good” (Jesus was the only one referred to as “good”) father. People have to choose on their own with all aspects of life to experience what God designed in the beginning
(which was trust by faith and a free will). Cultures and countries that spit in God’s face are not being punished most of the time; they just are not getting help from the father who allows “freedom from the very person they flee”! If punishment were invoked, the bible says death is all that is just and righteous from a holy judge! Are they dead? It is Jesus who stops God the Father’s wrath from killing anyone who spits in his face and calls him a liar. It is grace that abounds they live in whatever condition ” they choose” and hopefully a “thread of their bloodline” one day will bow to their knees and ask for forgiveness! That is the story that all of us come from. We came from the father Abram who stepped up out of idolatry and boldly bowed to Yahweh for forgiveness. If you claim Jesus as your God, it is due to your past father (Abraham a type of God who offered up his son as the only atonement worthy of forgiveness) God provided us with heaven examples in the flesh known as fathers to give us a small piece of seeing him through hope, faith, love, commitment, sorrow, and love. If someone did not have a decent father or one at all, it is sad, but God provided enough examples in the bible, on earth, and even in movies to give everyone an example without excuse. Nobody needs to taste a cow paddy to know there is really good food out there even if they had eaten nothing but cow paddies! So, as you walk to or away from your father do not always think those hand prints are where your father made a mistake and failed; but bowed his knees and cried for your sake asking for help that you would see the light and come back to him (of course I am referring to Christ the only “good” father)!
Imagine your foot print with Godly teachings and ever lasting momuments that will be left behind instead of these silly things. Like, holding your child when born, feeding and loving on them everyday, taking them to church, teaching them scripture, teaching them a trade and useful skills for surviving, being an example of a “decent” father, things like that. Your foot prints will be a “soul project” true enough!
