By Ann Farabee

Sand. We love it. We hate it. Mostly love it. The times I hate it are when I am trying to get to my spot on the beach on a hot day while barefoot. Sand gets hot — sometimes up to 130 degrees.

For those who may be walking on the sand barefoot, here are some tried and true recommendations that may help us not get our feet burned:

• Run from shade to shade — like to a lifeguard stand or beach umbrella

• Put plastic bags on our feet

• Wet our feet or wet the sand

• Walk fast

• Stay on lighter-colored sand

• Wear shoes

Sand. It changes as the day goes by. The tide and waves move it around. People move it around. In the evening, walking on sand is cool and comfortable to the feet.

But the incredible thing about sand is the quantity of sand in our world.

Is there a way to count the grains of sand? That seems impossible and would only be something God could do.

Scientists have given it a try though. One way was to count how many grains would be in a teaspoon, and then multiply it by all the beaches and deserts in the world. That would give it around seven quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains. That sounds like a lot of sand.

That number, which is only an estimate, is not even understandable to most of us. That makes Psalm 139:17-18 even more amazing!

Verse 17: How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

Precious means to be of great value or high price jewels.

His thoughts unto us means that we are on his mind.

A sum is adding together to get the total amount.

‘Great’ means magnitude beyond the usual or to an extensive degree.

Verse 18: If I should count them, there are more in number than the sand.

So, if we take all the grains of sand, and add to get the total, God’s thoughts of us are more than there are grains of sand.

Grasping that concept could be a lifesaver.

Lord, help me to remember that you are thinking of me — always. May I live peacefully and joyfully in that truth. Amen.

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at  annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.