The Good Shepherd

My mom was a collector of many different things during her life: dolls, angel statues, and beanie babies were her favorites. Our small apartment had multiple book shelves filled with her knickknacks (or treasures, I guess, depending on your viewpoint). In the midst of all the chaos of her collections was one shelf that always felt a little out of place to me. On it were about 30 different sheep statues. They were made of various materials (ceramic, wood, plastic) and included sheep of multiple sizes (small, medium, large, mammoth!). It just seemed so random in the midst of her multiple shelves of angels, dolls, and stuffed animals.   

Whenever someone asked her about this particular collection, my mom would simply say, “They remind me I’m not alone.”  My mom had a simple faith in God. She was not some great scholar of Scripture, but she trusted in God and the promises He gave us. Psalm 23 was a favorite passage for her (as I am sure it is for many of us) and it brought great comfort to her throughout the many trials of her life: that God was leading her and beside her at all times.  

The promise of Psalm 23 is that our God is with us, providing and protecting. As a shepherd guides and guards their sheep, God guides and guards His people. Verse four says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”  Shepherds used their rods and their staff for many things—to prod and poke the sheep to go where they needed to go and to scare and fight off predators trying to attack the sheep. Either way, the use of the tools required the shepherd to be in close proximity to the sheep.   

Whether God is guiding us or guarding us, knowing He is with us should provide comfort to us as we journey through this life.