Good morning Faith Pals,
Welcome to another week. Nearly August! We are getting closer to spring!
Now, some of you may have known (I didn’t) that the words I forwarded to you on the clip about Steve Jobs were actually a hoax ( I am sure Bruce didn’t know either!) I am of that generation that believes that what is reported is correct. We could echo the words of Pilate: “What is truth?” (John 18:38)
I wondered about what that meant, does it matter if Steve Jobs didn’t actually utter those final words? The sentiments are still wonderful-doesn’t matter who said them or who wrote them. It made me think about some of the quotes I find. Some of them have been attributed to the wrong person-but the words themselves are still powerful.
The beautiful poem ‘Footprints in the Sand’, which has been a source of great comfort to many over the years:
For years it was thought to be anonymous-no one knew who wrote the words. Mary Stevenson originally wrote the poem Footprints in the Sand in 1936 when she was only 14 years old. For many years handwritten copies were distributed by Mary to those who needed something to give them comfort at a low point in their lives. It was sometime after this that friends of Mary saw it in print and wondered why she wasn’t given credit for writing it. A lawyer at that time told her that it would be very hard to prove she was the author because it had been used by many publishers of religious materials and greeting cards. Mary wrote ‘Footprints’ in 1936 when she was very young and knew nothing of copyrighting. Discouraged she didn’t pursue it any further.Unfortunately she did not keep a copy. However, in 1984 while cleaning out the garage to prepare to move from her house, in a small suitcase, among her other poems, she rediscovered a very old handwritten copy that she thought was lost. It was one of the copies Mary had made and dated 1939, just three years after she wrote the original. Later that year the U.S. copyright office awarded her a copyright for ‘Footprints in the Sand’ 48 years after it was written. It was another 11 years before her handwritten copy was authenticated by a forensic specialist as to its age
Therefore, the record states that the original version of Footprints in the Sand was written by Mary Stevenson in 1939.
There have been different versions of it, one by Mary Fishback Powers, popular in the early 1960s.
- John 11:35 “Jesus wept” … as a man of few words, I appreciate this verse which puts so much meaning into two words.
- Romans 8:26 (from today’s list of readings) … gives me encouragement that when I/we have no words to express the struggle, the Spirit prays on my/our behalf
- Proverbs 31:10-31 … reminds me of my Mum (and a few other remarkable women in my life)!
I thought I should let you know some of mine! Most of my favourites have been covered. Others include Psalm 139, and Isaiah 11: 6-9:
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
News about people:
John is recovering well. He appreciates your prayers, thoughts and phone calls. Possibly a scan today and ? home tomorrow or Wednesday.
Jean : still in hospital. I spoke to her this morning. At this stage, she doesn’t know what will be the next step. Rehab? If so, when? When I have more news, I will let you know.
I have concluded with some beautiful examples of human kindness. I had been on-line looking, and then this arrived via an email from a friend. I hope the images come through (you may have to click somewhere on your screen to allow remote content to be visible).
To close with a bit more Emerson:
“Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would create new religions overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead, the stars come out every night and we watch television.”
― an American environmentalist, entrepreneur, author, and activist).
Now-you are allowed to watch television: just remember to poke your head out the door, or look through the window on a clear night-to consider the stars and their Creator now and again!
Blessings and love
Barbara
