Footprints in the sand

“Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
When in the morning light I wake,
Teach me the path of love to take.”

She prayed and finished with a sigh.

Wondering if god ever heard.

She had wandered down the righteous path her entire life but still there was no answer from the lord up above.

Another day came to its end, again she prayed:

“Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If it is in my fate
May the angels bring me to his gate.”

One night a breeze woke her up.

Frightened she opened her eyes only to find herself being carried by a stunning angel.

“Where are you taking me?” She asked politely

“The heavens have heard your prayers, to the gate you will be brought.” The angel replied calmly.

At the end of the horizon she saw the light of the dawn being transformed into the brightest, clearest light she had ever seen. She was stunned and confused. If this was the almighty lord how come they hadn’t traveled up into the blue? How come she found herself being carried to her favorite place, the pond in the park?

She could tell that they were getting closer, the dawn was almost non-existing now and she could make out the outlines of a gate.

At the arrival she asked the angel “why aren’t we up above where the lord lives?”

“The lord lives in your hearts. He is everywhere. You are the ones that have placed him and all us beings in heaven, we simply adjust to your image of us for your wellbeing. You are stubborn creatures with the need of believing in something extraordinary instead of seeking the truth inside of yourselves.”

The angel left her surprised at the fictive gate. She could see how the bright light transformed into a man in his thirties.

“You called” he greeted her with the most soothing voice she had ever heard.

She felt the agony creeping inside, there he was, the lord almighty where was he when she needed him? Why hadn’t he answered her prayers?

“Where have you been? Didn’t you hear my call?”

He calmly took her hand and said “come with me child, I want to show you something”

Suddenly she found herself at the most beautiful beach she had ever seen.

God kept showing her scenes of her life. In each scene she noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there were only one set.

This bothered her because she noticed that during the low periods of her life, when she was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, she could only see one set of footprints. Confused she asked:

“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.”