I wish I could wear Nike shoes. Growing up I had to wear “jeepers creepers”. Many of you may be too young to remember those, but I would describe them as the combat boots of athletic shoes. Yeah, and with a name like that, there was an awful lot of good humored teasing that occurred in elementary school. I can’t wear Nike shoes because they only build “D” width athletic shoes. I need at least “EEE”, so my choices are quite limited. I usually end up with New Balance athletic shoes – which is fine with me. They are one of the few shoe companies who still manufacture in the U.S. Large and wide feet are one of the traits I inherited from both sides of my family, so wide feet are just fine with me. As Rando would say, “it takes a strong and wide foundation to hold up a great structure”. When considering footprints as the measure of a man, I am reminded of one of the great hymns I sang for years and years during worship services. We tend to skip verses in order to move the program along. But sometimes the greatest wisdom in those hymns is buried in the middle verses. If the author was inspired to write the verse, the message shouldn’t be ignored, should it? Oh yeah, also, I never understood why we add an “s” to “make” when we sing this song. It ain’t “makeS the pathway glow”, it is “make the pathway glow”. I guess we all struggle with plural nouns? I know I do…
1 Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling,
Come, follow Me!
And we see where Thy footprints falling
Lead us to Thee.
Refrain:
Footprints of Jesus,
That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus
Where’er they go.
2 Though they lead o’er the cold, dark mountains,
Seeking His sheep;
Or along by Siloam’s fountains,
Helping the weak. [Refrain]
3 If they lead through the temple holy,
Preaching the Word;
Or in homes of the poor and lowly,
Serving the Lord. [Refrain]
4 Though, dear Lord, in Thy pathway keeping,
We follow Thee;
Through the gloom of that place of weeping,
Gethsemane! [Refrain]
5 If Thy way and its sorrows bearing,
We go again,
Up the slope of the hillside, bearing
Our cross of pain. [Refrain]
6 By and by, through the shining portals,
Turning our feet,
We shall walk, with the glad immortals,
Heav’n’s golden street. [Refrain]
7 Then, at last, when on high He sees us,
Our journey done,
We will rest where the steps of Jesus
End at His throne. [Refrain]
When Will was in middle school, he was a member of 4H. He invited me to chaperon a trip his group was taking to the 4H center at Jekyll Island. I am a sucker for any beach trip – even if it includes babysitting. LOL. There is something about standing where the land meets the ocean that instantly draws me nearer to our Creator. Ironically, I think I ended up learning more about the island and its ecology than the kids did! I learned about sea oats and their critical role in beach and dune preservation. I learned about the Georgia bight – and its role in the steep tides the barrier islands experience (see below). One interesting thing about the 4H center at Jekyll Island is its remoteness and separation from “civilization”. My favorite activity was a nightly walk along the beach after the “lights out” call and the kids were asleep. The difference between a dark, uninhabited stretch of coastline, and beaches overrun by tourists is striking. It was dark – so dark I couldn’t see my hands – yet I felt peaceful and safe. That is, until two nights before we returned home. On this walk something was different, almost fearfully different. That night, I noticed that my footprints (near/at the waterline) were glowing behind me – for as far as I could see. I cut my walk short, fearing that a nuclear accident had happened at the Savannah River nuclear power plant, and I was walking in radioactive material. I noticed that even the waves were glowing – all in a fluorescent green color – the same color as my footprints. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep that night, and couldn’t wait to tell the camp staff what had happened. I figured everyone needed to be warned and the proper authorities contacted. Well, imagine my surprise when the camp coordinator laughed at my ignorance and fear of the negative instead of awe of the positive. It was then I learned about bioluminescent plankton, and was able to coordinate a trip for that night so the kids could experience it as well. Sadly, bioluminescent plankton can only be seen on dark nights with minimal light pollution on the beach, and only at certain times of the year. A new moon or cloudy night can help the plankton become visible. Most of our vacation beaches are too swamped with light pollution though. I had never seen them before because I had never walked on a dark beach. I am attaching a video example of bioluminescent plankton.
https://brownsguides.com/georgia-bight/
The last night at the 4H camp, I jotted down some notes for future writing. A couple of weeks later, I completed it. I wrote it for a couple of reasons. First, as someone who had visited beaches on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, I was shocked at just how ignorant I was concerning the ecology of Georgia’s barrier islands. Second, as a thank you to Will and his 4H director for allowing me to be part of their trip, and for giving me the opportunity to become even more awed by our Creator and his creation.
Illuminated
With illuminated footprints
In the salty runnel sand
The glowing plankton showing
Me the measure of a man…
Only night sky light to guide me
Where the ocean meets the coast
Watching sea oats gently blowing
Maybe they taught me the most…
Then a shrimp boat light starts flashing
In the distance like a star
Just a gentle small reminder
We don’t have to look so far…
As humans we misuse, pollute
Earth’s water, land, and air
Education, my mind knowing
Is the way to show we care
Practicing pure harmony
With respect for mother earth
And a love of nature’s beauty
As we understand her worth…
To know our world in balance
Study how she operates
So we make better owners
Of the future we create…
As I end my peaceful night
Thinking of the Georgia bight
And her steep, yet peaceful tide
What I’ve learned I cannot hide…
With illuminated footprints
And a free, enlightened mind
I find my time better spent
Looking ahead, and not behind…
Jack Ingram has a song about the “measure of a man” that I have always enjoyed and found to be true and thought provoking… He even sounds a little like Tom Petty – and I mean that as a compliment…