The young father walking on the beach lifted up his son to sit on his shoulders. Each leg firmly held in his father’s hands, the boy sat happily. He had a view that he otherwise could not have enjoyed.

And he was safe—safe from the blistering hot sand on the beach, the onrushing waves, the sharp shells or broken glass in the sand. He could go indefinitely without becoming tired. Sitting on his father’s broad shoulders, he wouldn’t have to run to keep up … it would be no problem.

As I watched them, I thought of Moses, who told the children of Israel: “The Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son” (Deuteronomy 1:31, NKJV). And God assures us, “Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:4, NKJV).

Being lifted up and carried securely is not just for little boys on beaches; it also is for those of old age, those with gray hair.

Seeing the father on the beach reminded me that there is One who lifts us up and carries us. He is our Heavenly Father Himself.

*Taken by permission from “Legacy of a Pack Rat,” by Ruth Bell Graham, ©1989 The Ruth Graham Literary Trust.