Monday morning

The team at 9 a.m. devotions . . . another Calvin College track & field tradition.



*notes from devos ...
Have you ever been at a national park and seen a posted sign saying, "Take Nothing but Pictures, Leave Nothing but Footprints"? This was the question that Coach Diemer confronted us with this morning as we sat on a beautiful sandy beach with the sound of crashing waves behind us. As we pondered what that 'commandment' of national parks actually implies, we were impressed with how good of an idea 'Take Nothing but Pictures, Leave Nothing but Footprints' really is. Such a statement implies that we are respecting the space, keeping it in its naturally good state, leaving it for others to discover and enjoy; but yet also enjoying it for ourselves and making memories. Footprints implies as well that we are making an impact on the space.

What kind of impacts do we leave? Wherever we go, we have the chance to leave a space worse than we found it, the same, or better. We were then asked to consider what types of impacts the Calvin College track and field team had this past Saturday at our meet in Rhodes. Ideas flew as story after story came to light of hearing other teams impressed with how supportive of one another our team was, the joy with which we competed, and individuals' perseverance in all circumstances. 10k runners Jessica Koster and Kelly Edwards shared stories of working with members of other teams in order to make it 25 laps around the track in the pouring rain--and being thanked by those other members afterward--competitors become friends; pole vaulter/high jumper Carla Lindmulder laughed as she told a story about how she was trying to convince the jumpers from other teams that high jumping in the rain was fun. As we sat and considered the positive impacts these left, Diemer pushed us just a little further.

What type of impact do Christians make on their surroundings? To answer this question we cracked open Genesis 1 to see what God's original plan was. As we all too often forget, God made the whole of creation complete and perfect. When the fall occurred this perfectness became tainted. However, as we look at ourselves in the world today we are asked to consider that we, as individuals and as God's people, are still called to make our surroundings whole and perfect.

Taking nothing but pictures and leaving nothing by footprints; enjoying life but leaving it closer to how God had created it than when we found it. This challenging mission was the start of what is promising to be a week of thoughtful growth.
-Annika Krygsman '09 (Whitinsville Christian HS MA)