Stories Within Stories

A Walk on the Beach with God

   "It's more of a story really. About someone who has a dream. In the dream they are on a beach just like this. But they're walking beside the Lord."

   My eyes narrowed and Poppy rolled her eyes. "I told you it was spiritual." she said, laughing.

   "You did," I replied, and nudged her head with my chin. "Keep going."

   Poppy sighed, and with her finger, she traced lazy patterns in the sand. My heart kind of cracked when I saw it was another infinity sign. 

   "As they're walking on the beach, in the dark sky above the person's life is played out for them to see. As each scene is played, like a movie reel, the person notices that two sets of footprints were left in the sand behind them. And as they continued, every new scene brought with it a trail of their footprints." 

   Poppy's attention honed in on our footprints. "When all the scenes had been played, the person looks back on the trail of footprints and notices something strange. They notice that during the saddest, or most despairing times of their life, there was only one set of footprints. For happier times, there was always two sets."

   My eyebrows furrowed, wondering where the story was headed. Poppy lifted her chin and blinked in the bright glare of the sun. With watery eyes, she looked at me and continued. "The person is really troubled by this. The Lord said that, when a person dedicates their life to Him, He would walk with them through all the ups and downs. The person asked the Lord : why, at the worst points of their life, did He abandon them? Why did He leave?" 

   An expression of deep comfort washed over Poppy's face. "And what?" I prompted. "What does the Lord say?"

   A single tear fell from her eyes. "He tells the person that He had walked with them their whole life through. But, He explains, the time where there is only a single set of footprints were not when He walked beside them, but instead, when He carried them." 

   Poppy sniffed and said, "I don't care if you're not religious, Rune. The poem is not only for the faithful. We all have people who carry us through the worst of times, the saddest of times, the times that seem impossible to break free from. In one way or another, whether it's through the Lord or a loved one or both, when we feel like we can't walk on anymore, someone swoops in to help us... someone carries us through." 

                                    (From A Thousand Boy Kisses By Tillie Cole)