FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND

I am kicking and alive; because, there are ‘problems’ in my life.

Let me take back that irritating and detested word ‘problems’. Because, there are ‘challenges’ in my life.

That’s true. Every morning, when I start my day, my heart prays, “Dear God, may my day go smooth without any problems… Give me less irritants, less anxiety, less worries.” But, then, it seems as if God is not willing to listen to me. So, there they are – all my new problems – right before me as I step outside!

But then, I don’t get disheartened… I don’t lose my hope. So, at night, before I retire, I bow my head down, close my eyes and send to God the same prayer, all over again. Never to forget to thank Him, though… And, I really recognize a remarkable truth while thanking Him: God’s way of showing His love and mercy is always cloaked with mystery. I find myself deducing this divine meaning and purpose in that. “Hey boy, it is His way of making you a fine human… worthy of being His son,”  I hear the Good Counsel, “He wants you to go deep into the ocean to find the precious pearls all hidden inside those shells… He wants you to go searching for the rare, black coal which has wrapped in it those priceless diamonds… He wants you to wait with hope for each season to come… Till then, bear the heat, bear the cold, and bear the heavy downpour… He wants you to know, that each season has its role to play, the contribution to make… That, you cannot do without any of them.

I am 54 now. When I see the way I kneel down and pray, I find no difference between the way I used to pray as a little child and the way I do now. Heart trembled then, heart trembles now… Head bowed then, head bows now… Problems made me strong and fine then, they do now…

I was just a school boy when I first read and felt the warmth of the famous poem ‘Footprints’… and, today, after almost four times that age, I still feel the warmth of this poem.

So, this morning, when I felt like complaining before God, “Why don’t You answer my prayers? Why do You forsake me?... I felt, all over again, the sublime promise and loving warmth of His answer.

Thought, I would share it with you… to feel the same… and, never to give up on hope. His promise.

Footprints in the Sand

One 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 belonging to me, and the other to the Lord..

When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.

This really bothered me
and I questioned the Lord about it:
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why
when I need you most you would leave me."

The Lord replied:
"My precious child, I love you and would
never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints, it was then
that I carried you."

(Author: Unknown)

Have a blessed day.

GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Malabika Ganguly