Life Leaves Its Mark


 

On today’s morning walk I came across this little chest of drawers. It has been well used, clearly having served its purpose. It has been moved to the curb; I imagine the owner growing up and moving on. It was interesting to pause and study the various stickers that chronicle the life of both it and the owner.
There are characters from Sponge Bob Squarepants. There are stickers related to law enforcement and colorful peace signs. There are stickers which indicates a trip to the dentist. There are stars and even a singing hippopotamus. These all mark the experiences,dreams and imagination of the owner. I can imagine from this little bit of evidence that this child loves life and lives large.
We all carry marks that chronicle our lives as well. We might have a smile that reveals wonderful moments of joy. Our faces can have lines that tell of heavy burdens. Perhaps our loving heart reveals the wonderful truth that we have been well loved by others. Fearfulness can be a mark left by times of insecurity. A gracious spirit can be the mark that we know the power of forgiveness and generosity a sign that we realize we have been given much.
Life leaves its mark upon us in many ways. Like the stickers on the chest of drawers, our experiences are chronicled a day at a time. Both inside and out, we have reminders of our journey with us always. All our experiences go into making us who we are in various ways. We can let the experiences define us and hold us back. We can let the experiences show us the way to who we want to be. We can become bitter and angry or we can allow the marks to guide us to become a person who leaves a beautiful mark in the lives we encounter.Either way, the marks are still with us. But we have some choice in how we live with them.
Peace:

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