Footprints in the Sand: Finding God’s Presence and Compassion in Times of Suffering

A man once had a dream. In his dream, he walked along the shore, tracing the path of his life — and God walked beside him. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life, and next to each scene he saw two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to God. He understood that God had walked with him through every stage of his journey.

But then, as he looked back more closely at the path, he noticed something strange: during many of the hardest and saddest times of his life, there was only one set of footprints. This troubled him deeply. He turned to God and said, “Dear Lord, You promised to walk with me all the way. Yet during the most painful times of my life, I see only one set of footprints! Why did You leave me when I needed You most?”

God replied, “My precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During those times of trial and suffering — when you saw only one set of footprints — it was then that I carried you.”

“Mom Is Here!”

A child once became ill and needed surgery. On the day he was admitted to the hospital, his family accompanied him to the entrance, showering him with gifts and candy. Only his parents were allowed inside, and they stayed with him until he was taken to the operating room.

When the surgeon arrived, he asked the parents to wait outside. The child was left alone among serious-looking people in green gowns, under a blinding surgical light. Terrified, he began to cry. Then, glancing toward a small window in the corner of the room, he saw his mother’s loving face looking in at him. At once, he stopped crying and smiled.

What changed? The frightening scene was still the same — but facing it with his mother there, even through a small window, made all the difference.

So it is with us. Even when life feels painful or overwhelming, knowing that our Father in Heaven is with us changes everything. As King David said: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” (Tehillim 23:4)

We are never alone. God’s compassion and care accompany us at every moment: “The Lord will guard your going and your coming, from now and forever.” (Tehillim 121:8)

“A God Full of Mercy”

An elderly man in the holy city of Safed once shared a story on his mother’s yahrzeit (anniversary of passing).

“When my mother lay on her deathbed,” he recalled, “she called me — I was not yet bar mitzvah, and said: ‘Come closer, my child, and I’ll tell you what El Malei Rachamim (“God, full of mercy”) means.
When a cup is filled to the brim, even the slightest touch causes water to spill over. So too, God is so full of mercy that even the smallest touch — a sigh, a prayer, a tear, overflows into an ocean of divine compassion.’” Those were her final words, remembered more than seventy years later.

The Father of Compassion

The daughter of one of the great Torah sages of the generation, who was widowed at a young age, was once asked: “How did your father comfort you after your husband’s passing?”

She answered: “After the seven days of mourning, my father said to me, ‘You saw how many people came to comfort you, and how deeply they felt for you? Know this — God’s compassion for you is infinitely greater than all of theirs combined.’”

From a Letter of Consolation by Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz

“What reason have we to weep over God’s actions? Do we truly know what is good and what is bad? Are we as wise as the Blessed One, as merciful as He, as kind, as compassionate, as far-seeing? He is wisdom, mercy, and truth itself! Whatever He does — is only good.”

From a Letter of Rabbi Dan Segal

“Sometimes, if even a spark of a thought arises — ‘Why does God do this?’ — I am immediately filled with shame. For He is called Av HaRachamim — ‘The Father of Mercy’, the very source of every feeling of compassion in creation.

If I, a limited human being, can feel pity for another’s suffering — can it be that He, the source of all mercy, does not understand? And yet, if He brings pain, it must be mercy itself. For if the One who is compassion allows suffering — then that suffering, too, is an expression of His love and goodness.”