There is a common saying when in nature that people should “Leave No Trace.”
This means when you are in nature, especially in places that are fragile, you act in ways that don’t change the environment. You leave no evidence you were there. While good in principle, this is not really possible. No matter how hard we try to “leave only footprints and take only pictures,” our presence on the trail, on the water, along the road etc. still causes some degree of change to the environment.
As Pastor mentioned during last Sunday’s sermon (Matthew; 13:1-9, 19-23-the parable of the sower), “we live in a world where we are consuming things to help US out.” He also told us we can choose to live in a world where we can be “producers serving creation.” We all possess an amazing potential to love people and use things to promote more love, healing, growth, acceptance, etc. Jesus tells us in this parable that we are to be producers; people who produce love that is kind, non-judgmental, patient, and generous. How do we each produce these kinds of love and “live it” in our World? Some may offer their time, others their knowledge, while others their generosity – it’s wonderful that our list can go on. All these offerings are sorely needed today.
I think that “leaving no trace” is important if you are talking about litter in the woods, but we can also leave our traces of love everyday with the people we interact with as we do our best to produce Jesus’s love.