Here's an idea for a Gospel Routine! You are all free to take it and use it if you so desire.
Use the wonderful Gypsy Thread trick (made famous by Eugene Burger and others) and re. tell the beautiful poem 'Footprints' but in terms of a man walking along the 'thread of life's journey'.
Introduce the story and stretch out the thread over a flame. The story continues along these lines: the man reaches the end and as he looks back he sees his life's journey AND two sets of footprints, one either side of the thread. However, one set seem to have left him during the lowest, darkest points. He cries to God 'what could I have done that was so bad that broke our relationship? (burn the thread at this point); did I fail you in some way? (burn again); or did I not believe enough? (burn) and so on...
Then begin rolling up the strands as you say; 'He held his heavy head and sobbed great tears of grief. But then he heard a voice from heaven... and it said; 'My precious child, I love you, and would never ever leave you. When you struggled so greatly on the thread of life's journey it was then that I carried you. So know this my child, and believe me when I say that the thread that holds us together... will never CAN NEVER be broken (gradually unwind the restored thread).
Bright blessings to you all,
Mark T

Pretty cool application!

Sorry to inject a doubtful note, but the "footprints" story is an elegant allegory already - trying to "illustrate" with magic a narrative that is ALREADY an illustration is a bit like trying to illustrate a painting or a song - leave the original to do what it does best unless you can improve it.

Now, if you could find an effect with disappearing/reappearing footprints, that might be a way.

Maybe in closeup - cards in a row of 5 or 6 printed with footprints, that then turn blank, and then change again to spell out "F-A-I-T-H"?

Here is a nice Gypsy Thread video demo. Scroll down to the Gypsy Thread video.

http://www.diarchy.lt/EN/video.htm

Fair comment Ross.
Mark

Hmmmmm.