Footprints in the Sand

I came across this little story about forty years ago, when I was returning to the Christian faith after a long period of agosticism.  It meant a lot to me then.  It means even more now, looking back across the years.  

There are things you can't really understand until you have lived a long life, travelled a long way, loved much and lost much.  And then you see the footprints.  Thanks be to God.

Click to enlarge.

And in the wilderness (as thou hast seen) the Lord thy God hath carried thee, as a man is wont to carry his little son, all the way that you have come, until you came to this place.

--Deuteronomy 1:31 (Douay)

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It's a Wonderful Life: The Real Bedford Falls

Distinguished journalist Ted Koppel takes us to the town that may have inspired the setting of that wonderful movie.

I think of it not so much as a Christmas movie as an inspirational one. Your Head Trucker saw this film in the student union theater during my first term at a big university, nearly half a century ago. Mine was not the typical college experience:  I was broke, friendless, and terribly homesick for a place I could never return to. But the quiet inspiration of Frank Capra's magnum opus gave me comfort and lit the way ahead; it was the grace of God that I needed in that lonely time. I am still grateful for that.

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on tight.  When you come to the dark tunnel of despair, go through it -- and at the other end, you will find Hope.  

Keep on; do what you can.  Your life matters more than you know.

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Gratitude

A good message and some stunning photography here - it's worth your time:




Honk to Blue Truck reader Craig for passing this on.

The Democratic Convention in Three Minutes

Link to Time magazine video: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1485842900/bctid1760455467

There is no political party that has a monopoly on truth and goodness; no human being who can single-handedly right all the wrongs of the world. But omg, when I look at this capsule summary of the Dems' convention, it sure feels like home to me. Cool water in a parched, arid land. A big, loud, proud family all together at the table . . . where everybody has a place. Where everybody belongs.

Unlike that other convention, so notable for an unbroken sea of straight, white, tight faces.

And even though this show, like all shows, has an admixture of conscious theatricality . . . omg, how can anyone who truly believes in "liberty and justice for all" not feel the fresh breeze of dawn blowing across his face? A quickening of the pulse, a catch in the throat . . . an inspiration.