If I cared More for Me AND Footprints in the Sand

If I cared for one brief moment
About myself, more than I do for others
Do you think I would realise the magnificence
Of the unique being, that God has created me to be?

If I cared for one brief moment
For myself
More than I do for the world at large
Where the tears of my existence
Are wept into pool of frustration’s palm
And my heart bleeds for the homeless, the infirmed,
The lost,
Gathering life’s painful treasures to my bosom
As if of value

When in all trueness, I should be leaving these embers
Of pain at the doorstep of God's house, leaning on my faith to sustain me
In order for change and transformation to occur?

If I cared for one brief moment
For myself
More than I do for you, my love
My children, my family
Do you think I would be able to give more
To those closest and dearest to me
In quality and not quantity of time?
Yes, I would because………as it says in Footprints in the Sand......

Esther Austin© All Rights Reserved 9th October 2007




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 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.”


Mary Stevenson
Copyright © 1984 Mary Stevenson, All rights reserved