Echoes

Greetings Dear Reader,

I recently heard from a friend that I have not spoken to in over 12 years. They reminded me how words I had said to them then have guided them in some very dark places over the years. It made me feel like I had made a difference. In the same week, I sought forgiveness from someone I had hurt over 15 years ago. They expressed how my asking for forgiveness and expressing that I had been wrong touched a place in them that had bothered them for all this time. They neither bitter nor angry but there was a constant echo of the circumstances from the past that would plague them over the years.

As I dive deeper into self examination I see where I have left both positive and negative echoes in the lives of others. I have been seeking out those for whom those echoes are negative and asking their forgiveness. It is very freeing. It also makes me very strong internally. It also makes me much more aware that I want less of those echoes in the coming days. I want the ripples of my passing to leave others enriched and more alive. Again I find that the only way to do that is with strict obedience to Christ. My footprints that do not echo his leave footprints that echo poorly in others.

What echoes are you leaving behind? What are your choices leaving in the lives of others? We cannot pass through life without leaving traces behind. Are we living so that those traces echo Christ or do we leave false paths that hurt others? Do we leave behind memories that guide and heal? You can change some of the old echoes by asking forgiveness. More importantly, we can decide today that our future ripples will echo Christ and the traces we leave will point to him. I intend to watch where I step more closely.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn