So were the words of the legendary gospel spiritual that has been sung in churches all around the world, and like this hymn, Guiding Light still continues to shine after nearly Sixty Two Years on the air. From it's early beginning on the Radio, to it's continued success on TV, Guiding Light has virtually survived every single form of media change, and along the way the show reflected the changing times.

From WW II to Vietnam, from segregation to the civil rights movement, the show continually strived for excellence along the way. It also became Daytime's first integrated Soap Opera when James Earl Jones and Ruby Dee became Daytime's first African-American Actors in their roles as Dr. Jim and Martha Frazier which personified the fact that not all colored people which many were called back then were domestics like Prissy in Gone With The Wind, or foolish children like Buckwheat in The Little Rascals.

Although the show has faced the threat of cancellation on more than one occasion and some actors left the show under circumstances that were far from amicable, the show still continues to educate and delight it's many loyal fans all over the world. For example, it is one of the most popular Soap Operas in Germany due to the fact that the show orignally focused on a German-Immigrant family whose prescence still remains after five generations. The Bauers. From Papa Bauer's words of wisdom to Great-Grandson's Rick Bauer's loss of his beloved son, we see one of many families whose tragedies sometimes outweigh their triumphs but still survive because they love one another pure and simple.

Other families have also shown us the hurt and pain that we sometimes inflict upon one another. From Billy Lewis's drinking and prison conviction to Reva's confrontation of her then stepson Joshua for looking down on her for being "The Slut Of Springfield", we see how sometimes not dealing with issues firsthand can hurt the people we love the most.

We also see how childhood trauma can affect families for future generations. This is never more obvious that with the Spauldings. A successful, powerful family whose patriarch Brandon Spaulding inflicted deep wounds on his children Alan and Alexandra that have yet to heal and probably never will. Alan's continued obsession with "The Past" have a damaging affect on his emotional well-being. From the loss of his mother Penelope to the loss of his true love Jennifer Richards, Alan is living proof that your past relationships will always affect you future relationships.

Alan's sister Alexandra is also a woman who can't have a successful relationship with a man because of her father's cruelty towards her growing up. She lost her family because she chose to be with Eric Luvonaczek, her lover and the father of her twin sons Brandon aka Lujack and Nick. Her marriage to Roger Thorpe ended when he had an extra-marital affair with Mindy Lewis and although she also had a relationship with Fletcher Reade, it didn't last because of her own scheming which proved that she didn't realize that she deserved to be with a good guy because she had always been with bad guys.

Sadly enough, this legacy still continues to grow within the new Spaulding Generation. Phillip, the heir apparent, very much became Alan's son and got away with so much not caring whom he hurt in the process including his younger brother Alan-Michael. However, when his actions cruelly hurt his best friend Rick Bauer , he realized that people have feelings too. Whether it was stealing Beth, his first real love, sleeping with Meredith his fiance and realizing that he had fathered a child that Rick wanted more than anything else in the world, Phillip has humbled himself immensely and for the better.

His future marriage to Miss Harley Davidson Cooper Spaulding Mallet is already in question because of his ex-wife Beth's continued presence in his life. Alan-Michael, whose life was ten times worse than Phillip's because he had to deal with the shame of coming from of family of three generational alcoholics managed to finally escape The Spaulding Trap by leaving with his wife Lucy to start a brand new life.

Amanda, the long absent daughter is very much like Alex, in the sense that she can't have a stable relationship with a man because of her need to win over Alan's love over anything else in the world. However, her world nearly came crashing down when she discovered that Brandon Spaulding wasn't her Grandfather but her real father since he also had an affair with Jennifer Richards. (Whether Jennifer was raped or a mutual consent is anybody's guess).

Nevertheless, the only stable Spaulding is Vicky Brandon Spaulding, the newcomer who is 75% African-American and 25% White whose grandmother Sharina had a love affair with Brandon during a time in society when Interracial Love like Gay Love was truly the love that dared not speak it's name. She's trying her best to be accepted but she's going to have to fight tooth and nail to be acknowledged and accepted because they are a very clannish type who don't accept anyone who is better than they are emotionally and certainly not financially. Their marital past to many of the Lewises, their business rivals is living proof of that.

The only family that seems to be wealthy in emotion and strapped financially are The Coopers, one of the true realistic families on Soaps today. Their main headquarters is THE FIFTH STREET DINER, where people go to eat, listen to music and have fun. Most of their customers are single-parents, blue collar workers and social security recipients who survive week by week on what little they have. The Diner was founded by the late Achilles Cooper, who was a Greek Immigrant who passed the Diner on to his Son Franklin Achilles Cooper Sr, aka Buzz. A well-meaning man who sometimes allows his emotions to get himself in situations that he can't always get himself out of.

From money issues to marital issues, his actions always have disastrous consequences but deep down, his intentions are honorable. Only in the past couple of years did he realize how easy it is to be hurt by the people you love. This was never more obvious than when he fell in love with Reva Shayne Lewis Lewis Lewis Spaulding Lewis. He married her, not knowing her ties to The Lewis Clan but after nearly a year, the marriage ended and he was devastated.

Needless to say, he learned a very important lesson. What goes around comes around especially since he married his High School Sweetheart Nadine, even though he carried a torch for Jenna Bradshaw, a notorious Jewel Thief who managed to go straight for the time being.

Nevertheless, his absence in his children's life didn't affect them as it would in most occasions. His son Frank has a wonderful marriage to Eleni Andros Cooper, a successful caterer and together they have a daughter named Marina. His eldest daughter Harley also had her heart broken by men she loved including Josh Lewis, AC Mallet but now she's with Phillip Spaulding so maybe she'll have the stable life that she's dreamed of. However, the one thing that the Coopers always do is lend a helping hand. This was never more obvious than when in 1996, Tina Crede an old friend from High School came to town with her daughter Dahlia. Tina was a wild child who dropped out of school when she was sixteen to have her daughter.

Tina who was a "StreetWalker" told her daughter that she worked in a Restaurant as a Hostess doing the night shift but she did teach her daughter some very important lessons in life. No boys in the house when she wasn't home and don't be a tramp around the guys because they will hurt you in the process. More than anything else, Tina wanted to go straight but she didn't know how and when she unintentionally worked as a backup at a robbery at The Spaulding Mansion, she went to prison for 18 months while Frank took the young girl in. To this day, it is still unknown whether Frank is her father or not.

Dahlia, is a young lady whom we never got to know well but she is a bright, attractive young lady whose talent for music has gotten her through the roughest times of her life and although many other ladies feel sorry for themselves when they don't get their way, Dahlia doesn't. She lives each day to the fullest and dazzled Springfield's movers and shakers when she sang at Cedars 60th Anniversary Ball. She recently broke up with her boyfriend Marcus Williams, an aspiring musician in his own right and now may start a relationship with David Grant but she has Vicky Spaulding as a potential rival so who knows.