One night, a man had a dream.
He dreamed that he was walking by the sea in the company of the Lord.
Against the backdrop of the sky, he watched the scenes of his life unfold.
He noticed two parallel sets of footprints in the sand in each scene.
One was his; the other was the Lord's.
In the final scene, he turned around to see the footprints on the beach.
He then realized that at various points in his life, there had been only a single set of footprints. And that these moments of solitary walking corresponded to the saddest and darkest hours of his life.
Intrigued, he says to his companion: "Lord, you assured me that you would always walk by my side if I chose to join you. But I notice that during the hardest periods of my life, there is only one footprint in the sand."
Why did you abandon me at the moment when I needed you most?
The Lord then turns to him and answers:
My child, my very dear child, you know that I love you
and that I would never abandon you. You must understand this: if at the most difficult moments of your life you see only one set of footprints, it is simply because I was carrying you in my arms…
To be meditated upon
Marylena