Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. – Colossians 4:5-6
There is always lots of talk on the material and digital footprints we leave behind these days, but what about the spiritual footprint we unnoticeably leave behind everywhere we go without even knowing?
I had the pleasure of working with a team of young college freshman and sophomore dancers as their assistant dance coach. The team was a wonderful group of classy, well-mannered ladies who, like every college student, went through the woes and excitement of being on their own for the first time and the ups and downs of their new college life.
Many times the girls would speak with me about what was troubling them and I often thought of myself as a “big sister/aunt” confidant as they sought out guidance in this new adventure called young adulthood. Since I was only about 7 – 8 years older than them, I never quite felt like I could give adequate advice, so my typical reply was, “Don’t waste your pretty!” which kind of became my own personal motto.
I tried to remind the girls that they all had a “pretty” or a special gift inside them that would impact the world and their relationships with others. Did they want this to be positive or negative? I tried to remind them that getting caught up in what was popular or engaging negatively with others was merely wasting the potential they had to let their greatness shine. By doing so, they were, what I called, “wasting your pretty!”
We all have the opportunity to positively impact our surrounding and others through what we say and, most importantly, what we do each day. More often than not, we don’t realize the impact we are making on others. At the end of each day, have we acted kind, sincere, and left a positive stamp on the world – or have we wasted it away?
I encourage you all to seek out your own personal motto and start each day reminding yourself to not “waste your pretty.” You’d be surprised how you will begin to see what a wonderful world it is everywhere you go, and the lasting footprint you will begin to leave on others.
Meredith Lee, Children’s Center Management
