During thirteen years of motherhood I have lost the ability to eat like a lady. Because I have to be the cook, the waiter and the guest all at the same time I shovel my food inside my mouth like there's no tomorrow. That leaves me a lot of time waiting for the kids to finish their meal, so I use this time to be good mom and read them stories from the bible.
But after several years of reading the same stories over and over again the kids started yelling: 'Simson, Delila is setting you up!' and when the sheep was lost they yelled: 'He'll find him again. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt!'
So I decided it was time for something different. And with great care I chose the beautiful poem 'Footprints in the sand'.
With my voice quivering with emotion I read the poem to them, and I felt my eyes welling up as I read the part about God carrying you through the hard parts of life. Then I looked expectantly at my kids waiting for their cries of wonder and joy.
'Mummy, how could he walk next to you if he was lying down?' Jan asked.
'No Jan, I didn't say he was lying down, I said he was walking!'
'No you didn't! You said he was lying down, so that doesn't make sense.'
'No it doesn't!' Teuntje agreed.
'And it's freezing outside, so there wouldn't be any footprints!' Ot added.
'I thought God is in heaven. What was he doing on the beach?' Piet asked.
I took a deep breath and thought: 'This must be one of those moments when God is carrying me...'
Footprints in the Sand
Last night I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonged to me, the other to the Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”
The Lord replied, “My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of suffering, when you could see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Footprints in the sand
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9 comments:
Just stopping in from BSU and wanted to let you know that I love your blog design, it's beautiful!
Have a wonderful day :)
Thanks for stopping by, and for the awesome ideas to do in winter, I so get out of the ideas when January hits :)
Isn't it funny what kids find important and what they DON'T find important or interesting? I am surprised every day.
And as far as eating... I don't think I've had a hot meal in several years. My food always gets cold while I am trying to feed the kids. I am so used to it I don't even notice. My mom pointed it out to me that my food was cold. That's the norm around here!
Thanks so much for the very nice comment. It really does my heart good to get comments from the ones who take the time to really read these inspirationals and then tell about what it did for them after reading. I really like this poem you have posted as well. Footprints in the Sand has always been a favorite of mine and it never fails everytime I read this poem and get to the end my eyes are filled to overflowing with tears! It's a very touching poem and one that has always touched me deeply. Thank you as well for posting such a beautiful poem and reminding us all that God never leaves us and is always there even when there's only one set of footprints.
God Bless You~
I've read this poem many times before. It's so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
it always amazes me when kids see things differently, they really have and speak their own mind.
I LOVE that poem - it's timeless.
Thanks for the comment on my son's fishy picture. Yes, he caught it himself. This was a couple of years ago. He is a fishing fool and would fish 24 hours a day if we'd let him. He helped his dad clean the fish and then they ate it. I hate fish myself but have fun watching the kids catch them!
That is my absolute favorite prose! I had to laugh at your children's reaction. I remember the first time I heard it, my mom read it to me when I was a little girl and it always stuck with me, so hopefully it will with them, too :) By the way, thank you for your comment on my blog the other day--that made sense!
I love that poem. My sister has it on a framed picture. Beautiful!
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