Shimmering Trail of Unseen Origins

 I was walking Ellie the other day and noticed something shimmering on the sidewalk.  A snail had left trails on the sidewalk that sparkled in the sunlight.  As Ellie and I continued down the street, I thought about that snail.

I never saw the snail.  I didn't know if the snail was young or old, or the purpose of his journey.  What I did know was that he crossed the sidewalk and in doing so, left a trail of his travels.  The trail itself was not pretty, but when the sunlight caught it, it became a glistening strand.

The snail caused me to think about myself.  I encounter or pass many people in my daily life, most of whom I do not know.  I don't know their names and they don't know mine.  I know nothing of their lives, their families or what they do with their days. But I didn't know the snail either and his trip across the sidewalk  impressed me enough to sit and write about it.  Why?

Because what he did reflected the sun.   The beauty of the snail's trail came not in the trail itself, but in the sunlight it reflected.  The shimmer, the glistening, the sparkle was not of the snail, but of the sun, and that sparkle made me smile.

Oh, may I be more like the unseen snail on the sidewalk.  May I live my life in such a way as to leave a trail that glistens in the light of the One true Son.  May His light so shine upon my path that others are led to Him by the shimmer they see.  May my passing someone's way lead them to see His Light and their faces turn up in smile because of the sparkle it imparts.  And most of all, like the snail, let me forgotten in the process.

Let Me Be Forgotten

Words by Glen Davis

As the dew which brought sweet manna,

and then quietly stole away.

I long to be forgotten, Lord,

to seek no accolade.

For each day the light grows brighter

as it shines in your dear face.

Only One is due all honor,

and only One inhabits praise,

So let me be forgotten, Lord.

Yes, I see it, Lord, no I see them,

those prints upon Your hands,

and I know that ’til forever 

the cry of Heavenly lands

 will sing bless the name of Jesus,

praise to the Father be,

as by the Spirit’s humble heart

we fall unto our knees.

So let me be forgotten, Lord.