I spent a big chunk of this Sabbath morning on the roof just talking to God. I recalled how much of my life was spent being the opposite of a role model, how many people over the years I’d encouraged to live destructively, and follow the paths to death. I’d even mock those who weren’t living destructively or weren’t at least willing to try it. Growing up, when reminded by my mom that my brother and sister look up to me and watch every single thing I do, I’d get angry. That level of responsibility and ownership over how I was living my life was something I didn’t want to face, period. In my selfishness, “they just needed to look the other way, to look elsewhere, anywhere, for a different role model,” as if that’s how that works. I lived accordingly for quite some time. It wasn’t until I gave Him my life that I embraced the truth: people are ALWAYS looking up to you, looking to you, and following your footsteps. Whether you want them to or not, whether you like it or not, is irrelevant. You are modeling life for someone, setting an example for someone, whether it’s your siblings or the cashier you see once a week. What God so graciously showed me was something so beautiful, so sweet, and so humbling: No matter how many times I fall short, those I love, those I care about and even those I haven’t even met yet can look at my life and find Jesus. They can follow my footsteps, though they’ll see many knee-prints among the footprints, to abundant life and abundant love everlasting. They may wrestle, they may get scrapes, they may get bruises, but they’ll find freedom. Just as I did. They’ll find freedom from themselves and freedom from things they have no idea are even stealing life from them. They will likely even do things they think are giving them life. I am but a broken vessel, but I find so much peace in knowing others can follow me to the feet of Jesus. They can follow and find a man after God’s own heart. They can follow and find peace that suprasses all understanding. There is truly no greater prize.