In the past year I have encountered everything from the death of my grandmother, car accident, surgery, job loss (my husband), struggles with faith, and personal issues with my family. I have not been my cheeriest as of late.
One of the hardest parts of this year was our church. Due to changes, I no longer felt as if I belonged to a place/faith that I have known my whole life. I would leave church feeling awful, sad, and almost worthless due to preaching and sermons. I struggled as to which direction to go. I found how easy it would be to turn away from God and faith all together.
Then, we found a new church. It is amazing~the priest is absolutely wonderful, uplifting, and inspirational. I feel God put us on this path quite simply to bring him and his inspiration into not only my life but my family's lives. He is what has gotten me through the better part of all of this and I will always be thankful to him.
It is with this situation, that I turned back to a poem from my childhood. I realize the poem will always give me strength:
Footprints in the Sand
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
~Mary Stevenson, 1936
Four years ago, during a difficult period when we lost a very close family friend, I stumbled across a song called “Footprints in the Sand” by Leona Lewis. I clicked on it, not thinking that it would be the actual poem. To my surprise, it was. It is the most beautiful and uplifting song and it often reminds me that I am never alone. It gives me strength when I feel I have none. Just know that if or when you are at a low point remember God will always carry us through anything.
