One of the desert fathers tells of a conversation he had one day with a Bedouin about God's love and care. The Bedouin (a desert nomad) had invited the monk to eat a simple meal with him. As they were sharing the meal and some conversation, the monk asked the Bedouin, "As you wander through the desert with your animals and family, how often do you think of God?"  The Bedouin replied, "My life here in the desert revolves around my family and caring for them. It revolves around my herding of the animals, the camels, the sheep and the goats. The sky above is the ceiling of my world, the sands make up the floor of my world.  Throughout the day, the footprints of my animals and even those of my family members are my lifeline to them. I can keep watch over them and I know where they are by following their footprints. I am connected to each one of them by their footprints."

   As the monk listened to the Bedouin, he noticed that the man was someone who was at peace with himself and that peace seemed to emanate from him as he spoke.  The Bedouin went on, "As you know, holy monk, at night here in the desert, the skies are filled with many, many stars. I spend hours each night looking at them. Some of them move through the sky, some of them twinkle; some of them seem to fall out of the sky. As I am in awe of them, because of their beauty and the vastness of their number, I begin to see that these starts in the sky are very much like those footprints in the sand that keep me in touch with my family and animals throughout the day.  The stars are God's footprints, when I see them I know that God is near. I look for him, When I see his footprints I now the he looks for me and he watches over me. I think of him every night as the stars fill the sky."

   The desert father who related this story concluded by saying that whenever he felt the need to feel God's presence, he would think of that holy Bedouin, and then he would wait for the stars to appear in the night sky and peace would be his.