Paw-printed pavement at a local park

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reminds me mistakes can be beautiful, too.
It casts a softer light on my life,
one full of moments ranging from awkward to unforgivable,
but not unbalanced by them, praise God.

I wonder how many times
something I’ve condemned as a mistake
was part of His plan A.

Painful encounters and thoughtless words
are so ugly from the outset,
so wrong.

How can footprints dug so deep
into what was meant to be smooth and polished
be good,
especially to the one who poured the concrete?
A permanent reminder that what was intended
now will never be.

Still, the sidewalk exists.
Better yet,
I now know there was a dog that lived
the same day the concrete was laid.
A dog likely enjoying a walk
that happened to happily track past the warning signs
to mark that park forever.

He couldn’t have known that, years later,
his fossilized footprints would bring me,
a total stranger,
a spark of joy and a smile at the end of an exhausting week.

Maybe his owners remember that moment,
the panic and embarrassment of pulling him away too late.
Maybe they don’t.
Either way, I’m grateful

for a random dog at a random park,
a random walk on a random day,
and the way my God uses the most mundane things
to remind me I’m only human,
just as He intended,
and out of my mess He’s making joyful things indeed.