My Dad's Footprints in the Sand Prayer Journal

     My dad used to take scrupulous notes in his day planner about his exercise, how his blood/oxygen level and heart rate were, who he spoke with on the phone and when, but I hadn’t seen him write his thoughts or prayers in a regular journal. I thought he might like to have a prayer journal. I chose one with a picture of footprints on the front cover and the Footprints poem inside. Each left-hand page begins with a passage from the poem, such as “One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord…” and has a quote at the bottom. The right-hand page has a verse from Scripture at the top.
On the first page inside the cover I wrote:

                                                        July 2009

Dear Dad,
     
I remember you talking about a Footprints poster you’d seen framed in Dave’s office. I hope you will use this journal to write about your walk with the Lord, both when you walk side by side and those times when He’s been carrying you, only leaving one set of footprints in the sand.    

I’ve found more encouragement and hope than you know in your persistence in the midst of adversity to serve God and remain faithful to Him. God’s strength shines through our weaknesses and His love, if we accept it though we don’t merit it, will cast out our fear of failure, the future, and despair.
I love you, Dad, and hope you become increasingly aware of how much God loves you.
Love, hugs, and prayers, Trisha

It wasn't until the night he passed away that I looked at the journal and saw the following entry which he must have written at night before going to bed on his 54th birthday:

7-25-09 – Today was a great day
     
Ann, Mary, Jordan & Theresa called singing Happy Birthday. I miss them a lot, but that started my day with a big smile. My brother Dave called at 9:45 – We had a discussion about past birthdays – Great memories. I thanked him for his beautiful card. Trisha called and came over with Holy Communion. I love the times we’ve spent praying together. Trisha and Kevin treated me to dinner. They gave me wonderful gifts. I appreciate my family and what happened this day. Thank you God for my girls and brothers.