"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: on belonging to him, and the other to the Lord."
"When the last scene flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints and noticed that many times along the path there was only one set of footprints in the sand. He also noticed that this happened during the lowest and saddest times in his life."
This really bothered him, so he questioned the Lord. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way, but I noticed that during the most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed you the most, you deserted me."
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trail and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."