By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

In a very real sense, life passes in the blink of an eye.  Some lives are aborted shortly after conception.  Others die at birth.  Still others succumb to wars, crime, illnesses, auto and other accidents—while drugs including Fentanyl kill tragically, albeit sometimes having been used to lace lesser drugs.

The lives of beloved pets pass before us, sadly taking those who have given so much love, while asking for very little.  Puppies arrive and age in fifteen years or so, leaving wonderful memories that influence lifetimes, and teach us about unconditional love from God.

To waste a precious life is a crime.  We only come this way once—unless reincarnation occurs.  Also, life is what happens to us while we're busy making other plans.  And yes, the eternal wisdom of Mary Stevenson's "Footprints in the Sand" should be understood by all:

One night I dreamed I was walking
along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed that
during the low periods of my life, when I was
suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord, ”You promised me
Lord, that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods
of my life there have only been
one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?”

The Lord replied,
“The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”[2]

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© 2023, Timothy D. Naegele 

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate's Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/   He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service).  Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, and Who's Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams.  He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See https://footprintssandpoem.com/mary-stevenson-version-of-footprints-in-the-sand/