One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the
sand; one belonged to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of his life
there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the
very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned
the Lord about it. "Lord, you said
that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk with me all the way. But I have
noticed that at the worst times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
How could you leave me when I needed you the most?"

The Lord replied " My precious, precious child,
I love you and would never leave you.
During your times of suffering and when
you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."