The Little Workin Girl

French author Delphine de Girardin, once wrote "To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."

In my own life I have had to take risk; risks with relationships, money, future plans. As a Christian I have found that taking risks with the security of having Christ holding your hand no matter when is a comforting thought. A risk I will be taking soon is with my relationship with the man I love. After a lifelong calling to serve our country, my love will be leaving in June for Marine boot camp. For those of you who don't know the details of boot camp, I will explain.

Men serving in the Marines leave for 3 months to a grueling training where they will be pushed to the limit, physically and emotionally. They will be cut off from the outside world and will only be able to communicate with loved ones through snail mail. After 13 weeks of training all their family and friends go to their "Marine Graduation" It is a honored ceremony and they are officially recognized as US Marines. After 10 days of leave, the new Marine will head off to 2 months of more training. During this time the communication with the outside world is more laid back and they are sometimes able to leave base on the weekends.

For me the risk and the fear comes with the thought of the first training. 3 long months of no communication with a man who I see almost everyday, and talk to as much as humanly possible. Again I am brought back to the promise Christ tells us in Matthew 28: 20 "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

I pray that even though I am scared and know that times will come in the 3 months when I will feel hopeless and that I can't go on any further with out him, that God is carrying me even when I can't walk any more.

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for 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."