Shepherds are a curious lot. I have been pondering lately how great the difference between being a sheep breeder and being a shepherd. It’s all about the heart. I spent Sunday with a shepherd. It was a day of life and death, of hope and heartbreak. The loss of a dear animal and her lambs, the loss of that shepherd’s dearest animal friend. They each knew the other’s heart, their secrets, their joys and sorrows. There was trust and love.
Shepherding,,,tending, guiding, guarding, watching over, caring for, keeping safe from harm. We watch over, we guard, we tend to the creatures we love, yet those hard lessons of life, the death,the pain, the sorrow are there, on the edge, intruding even when we are being our most vigilant. How fortunate we are that those special joys are there…those truly blissful lambs, leaping and dancing, the mothers who come to lean against you, looking for a bit of corn, a scratch behind the ear, a kind word and who give a nuzzle after a difficult birth, who are grateful for the care and tending and watching over, who love and trust, who are the shepherd’s sheep, the shepherd’s joy.