By Bonnie Baxter
The sun cast long morning beams through my home’s front door window as I sat at my desk trying to get some work done. I glanced at the wall by the door, and noticed a greasy imprint of a hand, illuminated by the sun: all four fingers and even the palm. At first I felt a flash of exasperation at my housekeeping and that I hadn’t noticed the handprint before. I sized up the length and shape of the fingers to see if I could figure out who the culprit was.
But then I remembered the words from an old children’s song, about God’s fingerprints being everywhere in creation, and I quieted my heart, taking it as a reminder that He is here. Here in my home and in my heart as spirit. But also, as this season reminds us, He has come to earth, He was here.
He took on fingerprints, and maybe a cowlick in his hair, or maybe an extra large big toe. I wonder what it was like to design a fingerprint for Jesus, a human body. A baby, a boy, a man.
Jesus would have literally left fingerprints on this world, just like you and I do as we interact in our relationships and daily lives. I want my life to have the fingerprints of God, so that when people meet me they know Jesus has been here, He is here. Maybe they could see His kindness, His compassion, His mercy, His love. And maybe then, when I leave fingerprints on the lives of others, they will also see a shadow of His imprint.
So maybe next time I come across a handprint on my wall, I’ll be reminded again of an imprint of hope, of new beginnings, of God coming to earth to demonstrate to us the depths of His great love.
_____________________________________________________________
About the Author
Bonnie is a wife to Todd and a mom to two great boys. They make their home in Medicine Hat AB, where she works part-time as a Speech-Language Pathologist. She tries to add creativity to her days, through writing, music, sewing, or learning something new. She loves Jesus, her family and staying up late.