Footprints in the Sand

by Margaret Fishback Powers

Lead me Lord. In our life there would be so many trials that we may encountered and I believed,
we are experiencing it right now. So there's no other hope that we can lean upon. Jesus is the
only one that can lead and help us take the right direction in life since he loves us so much and
he will never forsake nor leave us. "walk by me walk by me across the lonely road that i my
face". In times of troubles, loneliness and left alone and down in our life, God is always at our
side comforting us. He knows our suffering our feelings of being abandoned since he
experiences all worst thing that we never encounter during his stay here on earth and yet defeated
it and give us hope and remind us that this is not permanent it has an end just hold on. "Lead me
Lord Even though at times I'd rather go alone my way". Most of the time we made our own
decision and don't know the result of it. That's why we need to asked Gods wisdom in everything
we do. "You are my light" Yes if we claim that Jesus is the light, we should also be a light to our
love one’s friends and neighbors and to those who are in need because God will be pleased and
at the end of time God will reward us and that is eternal life in heaven. Amen! God is all the
time.
Each of us should know how grateful we are to have a loving God who is always there and never
leave us especially in times of troubles and pain. God showers us with so much blessings and
everything. He may let us encounter problems to test us and because he wants us to know that
there is God who helps if only you will learn to search for Him, that there is God who will lead
us with His guiding love. True, we can do nothing without God so we should surrender ourselves
to Him and let Him take control of our lives. We should always humble ourselves before Him
and tell, all through my life and all through my days, Lead me Lord.
The authorship of the poem is disputed, with a number of people claiming to have written it. In
2008, Rachel Aviv in a Poetry Foundation article[1] discusses the claims of Burrell Webb, Mary
Stevenson, Margaret Fishback Powers, and Carolyn Joyce Carty. Later that year, The
Washington Post, covering a lawsuit between the claims of Stevenson, Powers and Carty, said
that "At least a dozen people" had claimed credit for the poem.[2]
The three authors who have most strenuously promoted their authorship are Margaret Powers
(née Fishback), Carolyn Carty, and Mary Stevenson. Powers says she wrote the poem on
Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, in mid-October, 1964.[3] Powers is among the contenders who
have resorted to litigation in hopes of establishing a claim. She is occasionally confused with
American writer Margaret Fishback. Powers published an autobiography in 1993.[3]
Carolyn Carty also claims to have written the poem in 1963 when she was six years old based on
an earlier work by her great-great aunt, a Sunday school teacher. She is known to be a hostile
contender of the "Footprints" poem and declines to be interviewed about it, although she writes
letters to those who write about the poem online. [1] A collection of poetry by Carty with a claim
to authorship of "Footprints" was published in 2004.[4]
Mary Stevenson is also a purported author of the poem circa 1936.[5][6] A Stevenson biography
was published in 1995.[7]
 Footprints in the Sand
by Margaret Fishback Powers
“One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my 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.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”

In the first stanza the main character in the poem was dreaming about walking along the beach
with the Lord, she was seeing seems of her life across the sky. In her dream she noticed
footprints along the beach sometimes there was two sets of footprints and other times there was
only one set of footprints.

In the second stanza, this bothered her because during the rough periods of her life she could
only see one set of footprints in the sand.
In the third stanza she talked to the Lord and asked him why he was not there when she needed
him the most. She said that he promised her that if she followed him he would walk with her
always.

In the end of the poem in the fourth stanza the Lord replied a very meaningful message. He said
that when she has only seen one set of footprints it was him carrying her.

Literary Devices

Alliteration: You would walk with me always

Imagery: One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Hyperbole: Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

Tone

There is dialogue in my poem so that automatically changes the tone of the poem. At the
beginning of the poem in the first stanza the tone was calm. In the second stanza the tone was
irritated and sad. In the third stanza the tone changed to questioned. In the fourth stanza the tone
was strong (confident) and satisfying.

Symbolism

Symbolism: 1. The footprints symbolize the Lord's presence.

2. One set of footprints symbolizes how the Lord is carrying the main character through the
problem.

Theme

I believe the theme is to know that God will never let you down. I think the author was trying to
say do not ever doubt God because he is always on your side, and when you have a reason or
question about how he is handling your decision he will answer and show you his purpose.

Footprints in the Sand Meaning

The Footprints in the Sand prayer is special to so many Christians because it speaks directly to
our unique relationship with God. Our faith in God does not excuse us from experiencing
hardship and sadness.

The reality is that we all go through ups and downs in our lives. Sometimes God walks beside us,
and other times He must carry us.

When times are good, we are quick to thank God for his kindness. For instance, when we meet
our soulmate, it feels as if God put two people in the same place for a very special purpose - like
it was meant to be.

If we were to look behind us the first time we met our spouse, we would see two sets of
footprints: “one belonging to me and one to my Lord.”

On the other hand, when our relationships are rocky, it can often feel like God is no longer
working to keep us together with the person we love so much. No matter what we try, we cannot
recreate that same spark we had the day we first met the love of our life.

When times are tough and we turn around to look at our footprints in the sand, we might only see
one set of footprints.

You might assume, since there is only one set of footprints in the sand, that they are your own.
After all, when we pray for God’s guidance but our relationships do not immediately improve, it
feels like God is no longer walking with us.

Suddenly, it feels like we are alone on this journey.

During troublesome times in your life, you might wonder, like the author of Footprints in the
Sand, why when you need God the most, He would leave you?

The truth is that He was with you all along, even when you were sad. However, instead of
walking beside you, he was carrying you.

One of the most inspiring lines from the poem is when God says “When you saw only one set of
footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

Although the Footprints in the Sand prayer does not appear in the bible, some believe that it’s
based on scripture. For instance, Deuteronomy 1:31 says “There you saw how the Lord your God
carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

This bible verse shares much of the same sentiment as the poem. When we need help, God
carries us like a father carries his child.