Thursday, December 31, 2009

Footprints in the Sand and a Happy New Year!

I have always loved the poem "Footprints in the Sand," by Mary Stevenson. Here is the poem:

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 were one set of footprints.

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 have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you."

I was just thinking about this poem last night, because December has not been an easy month for my family. It started out with sickness. Next we were filled with the joy of the birth of my first niece, and then the sorrow of the passing of my grandmother. My uncle explained that her death, is really a rebirth of my grandmother as she went home to the Lord. The day after her funeral, we were surprised by another event as a water pipe broke in our home. We have been spending our vacation week with Service Master fans and vents throughout our main bathroom and part of our kitchen. Our home is that the walls will be dry today, and then the next step is to have a contractor come and fix the walls.

Despite the sorrow and stress, I have felt the Lord's presence. Despite the tears and the pain in my heart from the loss of my grandmother, I have felt his peace. I know that this month is a month where the Lord has carried me.

As I look back on the year 2009, it has been mainly filled with joyful memories. I felt like we actually had more family events than most years filled with a bridal shower, a wedding, a trip to Disney World, a birthday party, a baby shower, and a birth. I am blessed to have spent more time with my grandmother this past year due to some of these joyful events. I look forward to the new year and what it will bring. I wish all of my readers a happy and healthy 2010.

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Myspace Happy New Year Graphics


8 comments:

  1. I love the poem Footprints in the sand as well. 2008 was a devastating year for us. I understand the hardships you have went though and sometimes we may feel like God is not there, He is closer than ever before. I pray you have a very blessed 2010!

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  2. Bless your heart. So many things happening all at once. That poem changed my life many years ago. My first husband was killed by a drunk driver, I was 6 months preggo's at the time. I also had two boys, they were 10 months and 23 months old. I had my only daughter three months later. She was born with a lot of health issues and died two days later. I was in such a state. I was so young and did not know how to cope. One day I begged God to just take me as there was know way I could take care of my two young boys. I could hardly even get out of bed, much less take a shower. God picked a day that I was stronger than normal...As I begged and pleaded for him to please take me, I seen this light. I sat up fast...I thought, no way. I laid back on the couch and thought...I'm ready. There it was again, that light... It was beautiful and getting bigger and bigger...It was then I jumped up so fast and yelled...NO, NO, No...I can't leave, my kids wouldn't have a Mother or a Father. I looked up at God and said, Thank you so much for showing me I have so much to live for. Months later I went to visit my Mema. We were getting ready to leave and I ran back to the bathroom one more time before the long ride home. There was that poem, I read it and cried like a baby...For it is so true. God carried me through that time in my life. Thank you for sharing that poem. May God bless you and your Family as you are going through trying times.

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  3. I love that poem too! So sorry to hear about Dec. being so rough. I feel you on the bathroom issues. We just had our sump pump break in the basement and lost a lot of irreplaceable stuff. We are in the process of cleaning up the mess.

    Happy New Year to you & your family. I hope it brings you blessings!

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  4. I noticed you stopped by my blog - thank you so much! I really appreciate 'meeting' new bloggers out there. You have really cute graphics, too!
    Cheers,
    Patricia

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  5. I love this poem too. I understand the loss of someone and my heart goes out to you.

    I'm glad that your 2009 was filled with good memories and hope that this year will be filled with even more.

    Loveya

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  6. This is a beautiful post. I have always loved this poem. When I was a little girl I actually wrote a similar poem I liked it so much!

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  7. What a beautiful and cute blog.

    Happy new Year to you too.

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