Kathrin Shaffer (00:01.848)
Hey, I'm Catherine Schaffer, host of Unpolished by Cold. This podcast is for anyone whose faith is real raw and still figuring itself out. If this is you, you're in the right place.

Kathrin Shaffer (00:21.838)
So today we're going to talk about footprints in the sand when God carries us through it. I don't even remember how old I was when I first read of footprints in the sand. Maybe nine, maybe 10. I just remember sitting on the floor of our living room, flipping through this old book of poems my mom kept near the stereo cabinet.

between all the old ones about love and sunsets and a family and there it was, a poem about footprints. At the time I didn't really get it, the words felt heavy like they meant something too big for me to hold yet but something about it stuck. The image of two sets of footprints fading to one. The idea of someone walking beside you.

it felt important, even though I couldn't see or say why. Now, I wasn't raised in a church. I knew who God was, or at least who people said he was. I knew the Christmas stories, the cross, and the basics. But this poem, this idea that God wasn't just a distant figure in a Bible, but someone who walked with you, it was quite revolutionary to a little girl

who very often felt unseed. So I tucked that poem somewhere in my heart like a secret note. I didn't quote it. I didn't understand it, but it stayed. Years later, when I was in my late teens, I spent some time with my stepdad's brother and his wife, maybe even early 20s. It was before I had children and got married. They were a devout Christian couple.

of very devout Catholic or Christians who went to church. They were in the ministry. They were played in the band. They Bible study, you name it. They were doing it in the church. And they had this way of talking about God like he was their next door neighbor. They had a piece I just

Kathrin Shaffer (02:43.79)
couldn't explain. So one evening, footprints in the sand came up in conversation and they explained it to me. They said, it's not just about walking with God, it's about realizing that in the hardest times when life breaks you down, those are the moments he's carrying you.

And that's when it clicked. That's when I realized why the poem had felt sacred all the years. It wasn't about religion. It was about relationship. It was about presence. Even when I didn't believe, even when I didn't pray, something inside of me knew the truth of those words. That I wasn't walking alone.

So, let's take a moment to actually read it. So, Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson, written circa 1936. One night I dreamt 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. When the last scene of my life shot before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.

Lord, you told me when I decided to follow you, you would walk and talk with me all the way. But I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life, there is only one set of footprints. I just don't understand why, when I needed you most, you leave me." He whispered. My precious child, I love you and will never leave you.

Kathrin Shaffer (05:04.749)
never ever during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you. Even reading that now, decades later, it hits me different. When I was younger, it felt poetic. Now, at 47, it feels personal.

Kathrin Shaffer (05:34.017)
because I've had those nights. The ones where the sky is black and the tides coming in fast. Faster than your faith. Nights when you're not sure if you can keep standing, let alone walking. Nights when you whisper, God, are you even here? And all you hear is the sound of your own heartbeat trying to hold on. And later,

When the storm clears, you look back and realize the reason you made it through wasn't because you were strong. It's because he carried you the whole way. That's what this poem reminds me of. That faith isn't about never falling. It's about who catches you when you do. When I finally came to Christ,

I started seeing the footprints everywhere. Not literal ones, but moments that bore his mark. That job that didn't work out, but made room for something better. That friendship that ended, but freed me from compromise. That season I thought would break me, and it did. Just enough for God to rebuild me properly.

Each one was a set of footprints I hadn't recognized before. And isn't that how grace works? Quiet, consistent, carrying us through even when we don't deserve it. Even when we don't recognize the arms that hold us. Isaiah 46, 4 says, even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he. I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you. That verse is the living echo of footprints in the sand. God doesn't just accompany us, he upholds us. He doesn't just walk beside us, he lifts us when our legs give out.

Kathrin Shaffer (07:47.477)
I think sometimes we picture God standing at a distance shouting encouragement. You can do it. Keep going. But he's not a coach. He's a carrier. He's the one who kneels in the mud beside us and says, you rest. I've got this. We live in a culture that glorifies independence, even in the church. We say things like, I'm strong, I'll get through it.

I'll survive. But survival without surrender is just exhaustion wearing faith's clothes. Maybe the most spiritual thing some of us could do today is stop trying to walk on our own. Stop pretending we've got a handle. Let him carry us for a while. That's not weakness, that's worship. And maybe that's why the poem has lasted generations.

because it's not just a sweet sentiment for wall art. It's truth inked in human language. It's theology wrapped in sand and saltwater. It's the gospel in miniature. We fall, he lifts. We wander, he carries. We doubt, he stays. Every time I read it now, I think about how many people

have felt those same words, some in hospital rooms, some on living room floors, some in dark seasons where prayer felt impossible. And still, the same promise whispers through it all, when you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you. We forget that walking with Jesus was never about walking perfectly.

It was about walking with Him. There will be seasons when our footprints are deep and sure, when our faith feels steady and we can feel His hand guiding us. And there will be seasons when our path looks empty, when we think He's gone quiet or stopped caring. But every believer eventually learns the same truth. God's silence is not His absence.

Kathrin Shaffer (10:13.535)
and his strength shows up most when ours disappears.

Looking back on my own story, I can see the trail. It's not pretty. It's full of detours and sandcastles that got washed away. But the thing that humbles me most is realizing how many times I thought I was walking alone, when really I was being carried. There's something sacred about that realization. Because when you finally see his footprints where yours should have been,

You can't help but worship. Let's not look what I survived. Let's look who brought me through.

Kathrin Shaffer (11:03.223)
So if you're listening tonight or in the morning and you're tired, really tired, maybe this is your reminder. You don't have to keep pretending to be strong. You don't have to fake peace or force a smile. You don't even have to have words. You just have to let him carry you. And one day you'll look back and realize...

The sand you thought would bury you was actually the ground he carried you across. So thanks for spending this moment with me on Unpolished but Called. I'm Catherine and if you want to this poem again or find past episodes you can visit CatherineSchafer.com. Until next time remember you're not walking alone. You're being carried.