Footprints in the Sand

This is a poem form the late nineteenth century it seems. There seems to be dispute about who the author of the text is. Here is the text, a version (there appear to be several) accredited to Mary Stevenson who supposedly wrote it in 1836:

Footprints in the Sand

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 was one only.

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 has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

The text is great but obviously it looks even better when you see it with a beach backdrop on a life-size poster, like this one:

Probably the best version is here, where it is turned into a website with shore sounds, text in neon colored comic sans serif font, a beach backdrop and a footprint for a mouse pointer!