Is life just footprints in the sand?

"Footprints in the sand will last only until the next wave comes in. However, sometimes our impact on others will last for an eternity. This our gift. This is our opportunity. This is our purpose." 

Bruce sat at his deck staring out the window. It was Thursday. Tomorrow will be Friday. He could remember when that meant something. Like, the start of the weekend. The start of something fun. But now his weeks had devolved into nothing more than wash, rinse, repeat. Saturday would come, and maybe he could catch a couple more winks of sleep. Then it was up and doing all his yard chores which accumulated during the week. Sunday morning, he would get up, pay bills and do other paperwork. Maybe a football game on Sunday afternoon, then it was time to get ready to start work on Monday morning. Wash, rinse repeat. Week after week. Month after month. Then if his health held out, he could make it to retirement. And then what?

Then one day it hit Bruce. His life had no meaning. He was stuck on this rock, going around the sun once a year, doing the same thing over and over and over again. You live, you die, and then what? Does your soul drift around the cosmos forever? Do you go to some kind of afterlife? Are we reincarnated, so we can do this all over again? Bruce had more questions than answers.

One day at the office, Bruce was getting a cup of coffee and ran into Alan, who worked in the next department. He was not friends with Alan, but they were friendly. Alan asked how things were going. Bruce lied, as he said "Fine, just fine". But then something came blurting out of Bruce's mouth. "I guess it is not going just fine Alan. I am burnt out. Lost and confused. I am starting to wonder if my life has any meaning or purpose. I mean, is this all there is?"

Alan looked at Bruce as he was talking. When Bruce was done, Alan thought had about what to say and how to say it. You see, Alan is a believer, and follower of Christ. He knows what his purpose is. He knows that God has a purpose of each and every one of us. Alan then asked Bruce a question - "Bruce do you mind if I asked you when the last time was you went to a church?" Bruce looked at Alan and said, "It has been quite a while. I think I was still married to Kathy when I went. After we divorced, I lost all interest."

Alan thought for a minute, and then responded to Bruce. "I have a book I read years ago Bruce, which I would like to give to you. It is called A Purpose Driven Life, by a pastor named Rick Warren. It did wonders for me. I know where you are at right now. Why? I have been there. But after reading Pastor Warren's book, things started to make sense to me. It changed me. I started to read the Bible. I prayed for the first time in years. I found a Bible based church that I wanted to go to, not that I had to go to. And then, for the first time in my life, I asked Christ to come into my life."

This story is fiction, but it is similar to many true situations I have seen in my lifetime. I have read A Purpose Driven Life, but that is not the only way to see God's purpose in our lives. Each of us, has purpose. God created us to make a difference. Not just be footprints in the sand, but to make some kind of impact on others. 

Footprints in the sand will last only until the next wave comes in. However, sometimes our impact on others will last for an eternity. This our gift. This is our opportunity. This is our purpose.