Making Your Mark

People may not articulate it or even be aware of it, but deep down, everyone wants to make their mark in life. Some ways are very negative, while others are positive, even God-glorifying.

In my city, as in many others, there are two very obvious negative ways I have noticed that people try to make their mark, quite literally, in fact. One way is graffiti, sometimes done by gang members as a way of marking their territory. In my neighborhood, there is only one time that I have seen graffiti, many years ago on what was essentially a faceplate over electrical wiring. However, in a couple other parts of the city, graffiti is much more prevalent, some of it gang-related. The other obvious negative way that some have tried to make their mark is by “burning donuts” on the street or in a parking lot, most often with a pickup. Many years ago, we had a young neighbor and his friends who used to enjoy making their mark in this way, in our neighborhood as well as in other areas.

On the one hand, graffiti tends to be more permanent than “donuts,” although thankfully, the former can be painted over. “Donuts” fade over time; the worst ones that we had in our neighborhood had faded in a matter of months. Every several years, the city also paves over streets with fresh blacktop. As far as dealing with the people who perpetrate their graffiti: according to the National Gang Center Bulletin, gangs have been around in various parts of the United States since the early 19th century, but in the West only since the early 20th century. The Bulletin attributes the emergence of many of the street gangs to immigration and poverty. However, on a more fundamental level, especially in today’s world, much has been written elsewhere about how gang membership provides a way of belonging, especially for those from broken and dysfunctional families.

As for those who enjoy making their mark with donuts: that seems to be less a function of gangs and more of a function of young single guys with pickups and too much time on their hands. (My wife had also mused, “Who pays for the tires that these guys are quickly wearing down on our streets?”) Regarding the young ex-neighbor that I mentioned in a previous paragraph: I contacted the owner of the house that he was renting, and she came up with the wonderful idea of gradually raising the rent over a period of a few months until the guy was priced out. Thankfully, he ended up living in our neighborhood less than a year.

On a related note: there was another neighbor around that time who sometimes enjoyed speeding around in his pickup. One afternoon I heard him speeding around the block, so I went outside with a clipboard and pen. When he came careening around the corner, only somewhat in control of his vehicle, he ended up stopping in front of my house, breathing hard and clearly relieved that he hadn’t had an accident. While he sat there, I wrote down some info, like the color and make of his pickup, and frankly just some scribbling, before I went back in the house. He slowly drove away, and the next time we saw each other, we nodded; I didn’t notice him speeding around again. On yet another related note, and also around that time: one evening a friend stopped by to pick up my son for an event at church, and while we were chatting for a few minutes out front, I noticed three young guys I had never seen before sitting on the curb several feet away. Every time I looked their way, they were staring at me, so I eventually stared back. A few minutes after my friend left, I went back outside, and the three guys were gone; I never saw them again. Maybe it was nothing, but maybe it could have been. Only the Lord knows. Thankfully, my neighborhood is now much more peaceful than it had been for a couple years back then.

The examples of graffiti and donuts have struck me as pathetic attempts by young guys who are trying to make their mark. On the other hand, I understand that a lot of these guys didn’t grow up with a father in the home. Thankfully, there are positive ways to leave your mark. In almost any kind of work that people do, they have the opportunity to leave their mark. One obvious example is construction. I have never worked in construction, but I have a lot of respect for people who do. Several years ago, we hired a guy and his crew to replace our roof; about twenty years later, you can still see the quality of the job that they did. My plumber is another man I admire for several reasons; one is the quality of his work. His father (now in heaven) used to be our plumber, and his son has taken over the business. A couple months ago, he replaced a couple of fixtures for us, and he commented on a related fixture by saying, “I see my dad’s handiwork here; he and I replaced this for you.” He talked about how he had learned so much as an apprentice from his dad, and now he is following in his dad’s footsteps, in faith as well as in work.

I’m retired now, but I used to be an ESL teacher in my city. A former student of mine used to work at our local pharmacy, and every time I went in, I took great pleasure in watching her at work and in talking with her. She was always (overly!) complimentary of me and my teaching as well. I have another former student who works at a restaurant that my family and I frequent; I also take pleasure in watching her at work and in talking to her. (She also sometimes gives us a free dessert!) I periodically run into other former students whose names I usually don’t remember but whose faces I do; somehow, they always seem to remember my name.

Speaking for myself as a Christian: the most important way that I can leave my mark is in the lives of others. I have mentioned some of my former students who are still here in my city. I also have other former students that I taught in a Third World country many years ago; I have had the incredible joy of seeing some of them come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. For some, I have been there at the moment when they prayed to accept Christ; for others, I have found out later that they became Christians and that the Lord allowed me to play a part in that. If you’re interested, you can read more about that here under the theme of planting, watering, and harvesting: https://keithpetersenblog.com/2021/02/24/planting-watering-harvesting/

There’s an excellent old movie from 1938 called You Can’t Take It with You. The message of the movie is that no matter how much money and “success” you have, you can’t take it with you. For those of us who are Christians, I have heard it said that the only “thing” we can take with us to heaven is people. Amen to that.