Margaret Fishback Powers is the author of
Footprints,
which has been reprinted more than a million times –

When she wrote the poem in 1964, she was a young woman searching for direction at a crossroads in her life.
She has traveled the world as an evangelist with her husband, Paul, for more than twenty-five years.

One night a man had a dream.
He was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from his life.
In each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;
One made by him, and the other by the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life, there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the worst times in his life.

This bothered him very much, so he asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way.
But I’ve noticed that during my times of trouble, there is only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why you left me when I needed you the most.”

The Lord answered, “My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you.
During you times of trial, when you see only one set of footprints,
that’s when I was carrying you.”