03 January 2010

Footprints in the Sand

You know that poem about the footprints in the sand wherein the narrator sees a point in the path of his life where there was only one set of footprints? I've been thinking about it and I've decided I don't like it.

Why? Because the narrator has to ask the Lord where He was at the hard times. If the narrator didn't recognize the Lord carrying him at the time, he should at least have been able to in hindsight.

If the Lord is there for us at lame times, why don't we know it? Why doesn't He make Himself known? What kind of comfort is unrecognizable comfort?

6 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness you've hit it right on the head. I've always thought that poem was bizarre for exactly that reason.

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  2. I've heard people say that when we feel the farthest away from the Lord is when he is actually the closest to us.

    I've also heard that the most important word in the English Language is remember. Maybe we do notice him when he is there but we look back and forget.

    You bring up a good point I'll have to ponder this some more.

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  3. i always thought that was just a real cheesy little poem.

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  4. We get too caught up in our own pity party and woe is me attitudes, and allow awful thoughts to creep in to our head, that help us to forget instead of remember.

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  5. That is a good point.
    But maybe these are exacly the times when we don't recognize him. Maybe we even don't WANT to recognize him and see his helping hand reaching out for us!? Aren't we sometimes just too blind, to see it?
    Looking back, we often see, what he has done, but being right in the middle of the difficult situations, we can't?
    Read the talk from Elder Uchdorf where he speaks about "Seeing the end from the beginning" (http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=b209e2270ed6c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD)
    It's one of my favorites!

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