Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18
On an early morning hike through freshly fallen snow, Cosmos the Wonderdog, my wife, and I came upon the tracks pictured above. They were probably made just a few hours earlier, whilst the critter was cloaked in the surrounding darkness.
As can be seen in the photo, the smaller front foot of the raccoon usually doesn’t leave much of a heel mark, unlike the hind foot. These tracks were in an open field, a bit of a wilderness of sorts for a critter like a raccoon. They usually prefer to have some cover nearby to slip into if trouble approaches. From the distance between the tracks, along with the placement of the feet, it appears the raccoon was loping along at a pretty good clip, probably wanting to get into the concealment of some distant timber.
Winter is a good time to find and study animal tracks, and attempt to cipher what was going on in the animal’s mind when it made them. As I’ve mentioned before, this detective work can lead to some interesting discoveries which many people never notice.
Winter is also a season when much of life around my part of the world slows down a lot. I like to use the time to give thanks for many of the things the Lord has done in the past, and consider some of the possibilities on the horizon as the new year begins to unfold.
The first Scripture above speaks of the Lord doing a new thing. I’ve found He’s really good at doing that in my life when I am seeking Him, and often it is a thing I’d have never thought of had it been up to me.
The second Scripture is the prophet Isaiah foretelling the amazing sacrifice of Jesus. Isaiah wrote these words about 700 years before Christ! He revealed that Jesus would sacrifice Himself by going to the cross and shedding His precious blood to wash away our sins and make us as white as snow.
I am so grateful He did that for someone like me. If you are not sure how to have Him do the same for you, please see Got God? This is the most important decision you will ever make, and it will indeed make you a new creation!
Hope you have a great day.