No, we are not going to talk about the song Kanye wrote. We are, however, going to talk about something my neighbor Vikkie and I talked about yesterday.
When Brett and I were looking for an apartment closer to his work, we never imagined what God had in store for us, but God knew and he gave us Vikkie and Zoe. Zoe is a young woman who is not so wrapped up in herself that she doesn’t see the ones around her and she will do anything she can for her neighbors. Zoe checked on me many times after I had my ankle surgery. When I was finally able to get around, I took my books and went to have breakfast and study. When I got home, she happened to be outside and she would not let me carry my backpack up the steps. To Zoe’s mom, you raised an incredible young lady and her neighbors are glad she lives in our building!
And now to Vikkie! God knew I would need Vikkie and she would need me. It was not long after Vikkie moved in that I saw a bougainvillea plant on her patio. When I stopped to introduce myself, I learned she had lived and taught art in Kenya. Our friendship was quickly forged with talks about our beloved Africa. Vikkie currently has her hands full taking care of her beautiful mom, Ms. Addie. As Brett and I have walked this road, we have assured her that if she needs us, we are here. As many of you will know, Brett can put anything together, and most of the time he does it in less time than the instructions say and he doesn’t read the instructions! We all laughed when Vikkie realized I wasn’t lying about his ability! She and I both said it would have taken us all day to put something together that took him 30 minutes! At this point you’re probably asking, what does this have to do with Jesus walking? Let me tell you!
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I went down to help Vikkie with Ms. Addie. We sang songs as we scooted her up in the bed and then Vikkie and I sat down to chat a bit. She had a National Geographic magazine opened to a map showing the areas where Jesus walked…see, I told you I’d get there! Anyway! According to the map, there were times when Jesus walked nearly eight miles to get where he needed to be. Vikkie and I took a moment to try and figure out how far eight miles would be for us. Eight miles would be from our apartment to Friendly Center…not something I would want to walk, but Jesus did it to fulfill the purpose God had given him for the day. In his walking, Jesus would have left footprints wherever he went. Vikkie said while she was looking at the map she began to wonder, “What kind of footprint am I leaving?” I have asked that question many times since 2020. Since coming home, I have often asked the Lord, “Am I making a difference?” And then it happened! The Lord used Vikkie to confirm that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing.
As often happens when we chat, our conversation spiderwebs and today it spiderwebbed to the picture above her mantel.
Remember I told you Vikkie is an artist? Y’all she is an incredible artist and although she didn’t paint this one, she did say she wanted to. I laughed and said, “Can you make baby Jesus a little darker?” And her reply brought tears to my eyes. She looked me straight in the eyes and said, “No. Because when I look at that picture I don’t see the color of the skin that Jesus is wrapped in. Just like I don’t see the color of skin you’re wrapped in. What I see when I look at that picture is you, wrapped in Jesus, making a difference in our lives. You are leaving a footprint and it is beautiful.” Cue waterworks!
As I’ve heard many a minister say, “I’m not bragging on me but on what God has done.” Well, I’m not bragging about me, but about what God has done. God has taken a group of people who are as different as night and day and brought them together as neighbors. Every single one of us looks past the skin that we are wrapped in and sees the beautiful person we are on the inside. And each of us is leaving our footprint on those around us and those in our community. We may not walk eight miles like Jesus, but we walk up and down stairs to take care of one another.
Wendy Roseman 