Stephen and others,

My favorite story like this one is the footprints in the sand.

A man's life was seen as footprints in the sand on a beach. Most of the time there were two sets of footprints beside each other, but at certain points there were only one set of footprints. When the man died and met his lord he asked, "Why, Lord, did you forsake me in those bad times of my life?" The lord answered, "Those were the times that I carried you."