My “Footprints In The Sand”

You have probably heard of the poem describing a person’s life, “Footprints in the sand”. In a dream a man sees scenes from his life and saw two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonged to the person, one to the Lord. He noticed that many times along the path of life, there was only one set of footprints. He thought it was in these lowest times of his life that the Lord left him, but was told that was when the Lord carried him.

I have felt the same way, but it was not a dream. It is my very real life and one time stands out clearly. Six months after my husband died I hit another low point. It’s one of those “scenes” I look back on and am grateful rock bottom wasn’t hit very often. Being a widow was all it was cracked up to be- miserable. Do you know when your heart thuds- drops and physically hurts? Well, this happened hour after hour for months. The heart is a pretty amazing organ and still beat strong after being pounded for months. One main thing that hurt was I felt betrayed in so many ways from men who were a part of my life the past year. I was probably in victim mode, but that’s just one of the stages I guess. I felt betrayed and deceived, but at this time I felt mistreated by a spiritual leader that I had looked up to for years. So, anyway, I found myself at the bottom of the pit once again and of course, where did I turn- prayer. God was always the one I could trust. My closet floor was getting a little worn out from me spending so much time in there praying. Here it goes again, “Heavenly Father, help me. I have tried to do things my way and that didn’t work out so great. Show me.” Instantly I felt lifted as I heard these words, “Just rest and let me carry you.” I visualized Him carrying me with both hands across the sand. Once again I felt peace. It’s always interesting to me how the answers come in a way I never would have guessed and proves to me it’s an answer from above, not from my mind. I thought He would inspire me to get up and move again, but instead the answer felt was, Be Still. This answer allowed me time to just be and to feel His love for me. I realized sometimes it is best to stop and give myself time to pull myself together. Then when I am ready I can begin to walk forward again.