Footprints in the Sand

Footprints in the Sand
Acrylic on Canvas
6" x 8"
30/07/15
40 mins
Given to a dear colleague

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28 NIV), for "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." (Jeremiah 31:25 NIV)

I painted this picture for a dear colleague, adapted from an image I sourced online, because I knew this was one of her favorite stories, and I sincerely wished to point her to God's love and motivate her during a particularly busy and difficult period at work. She has been so simply amazing, and I really wanted her to know how much we appreciate and cherish her. We are often so weary and burdened in our various callings in life - so many things demand our energies and the competing demands make coping with our workload appear impossible. I remember when I was a junior, quietly shouldering as much as I could to help as many of my colleagues as I was able, until I realized that I was unable to cope because work never stopped coming and my phone never stopped ringing. I was not a Christian then, and I had relied fully on my own strength. That was when I realized that my own abilities could be insufficient, and as I struggled, my Christian mentor had prayed with me and passed me a card setting out the story of "Footprints in the Sand", the beautiful poem from which this picture originated as follows:

"One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and 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 would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."" 

   - By Mary Stevenson

At that time, as a non Christian, I did not fully understand the impact of this message. As I refused to surrender my difficulties to God, I was unable to rest in His arms or feel His support. In fact, I suspect that if I were able to view my footprints then, I would see footprints resulting from a stubborn struggle - God reaching out to me, and me pushing Him away. No wonder I felt so troubled and exhausted then!

But now, as I am more mature in my faith, I realize how blessed I am to be able to appreciate this message and to have a loving God who would walk with me throughout all of my life and carry me in the difficult moments. The ability to rest in sweet surrender in His arms in my difficult periods has been one of the most beautiful parts of my Christian journey. And indeed, why is there a need to be afraid of anything? For "In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Psalms 56:4 NIV) And it is true, for when our eyes are on God and not on merely pleasing men and obtaining things of this world, do we realize that we own a priceless treasure that no man can ever take away.

"So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?"" (Hebrews 13:6 NIV)