Near a shady wall

Near a shady wall a rose once grew,
Budded and blossomed
In God’s free light.
Watered and fed by morning dew,
Shedding it’s sweetness day and night.

As it grew and blossomed fair and tall,
Slowly rising to loftier height,
It came to a crevice in the wall,
Through which there shone
a beam of light.

Onward it crept with added strength,
With never a thought of fear or pride
It followed the light
Through the crevice-length,
And unfolded itself on the other side.

The light, the dew, the broadening view,
Were found the same
As they were before,
And it lost itself in beauties new,
Breathing it’s fragrance more and more.

Shall claim of death
Cause us to grieve,
And make our courage faint or fall?
Nay let us faith and hope receive -
The rose still grows beyond the wall.....

Scattering fragrance far and wide,
Just as it did in days of yore,
Just as it did on the other side,
Just as it will for ever more.

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Footprints

One night I had a dream.
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with God,
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonged to me and the other to God.

When the last scene of my life flashed before us
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at times along the path of life
there was only one set of footprints.

I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of my life.
This really bothered me and I questioned God about it.
“God, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way,
but I noticed that during the most troubled times in my life there is only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why in times when I needed you most, you would leave me.”

God replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never, 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

Margaret Fishback Power

published by Marshall Pickering IBSN 0-551-02841-6.