Parable 3. When in Pain...

 
 
Having given his soul to God, a man found himself on a sandy bank and marveled: A narrow brook ran along the bank, not horizontally, but vertically. The canvas of water gave the impression of a long mirror.
“Lord,” the man pleaded, “what is this?”
“This is your whole life, my son,” – he heard a quiet voice behind him.
He turned around to see... Christ is standing there smiling.
“Well? Are you ready? Let’s go over your life together.”
The man walks along the brook-mirror, looking at the episodes of his life. Every moment, every instant is remembered. Sometimes he looks back and sees two pairs of footprints in the sand. And suddenly he notices that when he was happy and at ease in life, he turns around and sees those two pairs of footprints in the sand. And when he was having a hard and bitter time, when he was lonely, and it seemed that there was no way out, only one pair of footprints appears in the sand.
After reviewing his life story, he said to Christ:
“Lord!  I get it! When you were around, my life was easy and carefree. And when you weren’t around, I was bitter and in pain...”
“No, my son! not quite. When you were in pain and bitter, I carried you in my arms...”