Anything But Routine
My sheep are used to their new winter routine. Finally. After weeks of trying to introduce them to a new barn and paddock, opening gates, closing gates (after running rutted, slippery, hilly acres to catch them in a paddock), trying to outsmart them, etc. they have finally decided their new set up isn’t so bad after all.
The real test will come when there’s a winter storm or a Livestock Guard Dog partially blocking the entrance of the new to them barn. Will they overcome their fear and go into the barn, or will they let it hold them back and keep them from safety?
In a way I look forward to seeing their reaction when the time comes but I also know it could just as easily be a helter skelter all hands-on deck kind of moment for me, their Shepherdess. If they decide to stay outside in a raging winter storm I will have to intervene and try to get them to safety. That could likely be dangerous for me since there are more of them than there is of me, and they can negotiate ice and snow much better than I can.
For now, I am trying not to look too far ahead wondering what could happen when push comes to shove. I know whatever happens I will do my best to protect all my sheep whether they cooperate or not and that my Good Shepherd will be right there with me.
As I ponder what could or will be, I realize how like my sheep I am. I also have routines that can instantly change or be forgotten when the first snowflake from an oncoming winter storm in my life falls. I can be established in the regular routine of reading my bible and praying daily — of praising my Good Shepherd no matter what season I am in — only to change course because of a distracting unexpected happening, emotion, attitude or roadblock.
And so, I have to choose — and it is a choice. Do I choose to willingly stay away from the warmth and comfort and care of my Good Shepherd? Will I choose to let things block me from the safety of His protection? Do I break my routine of seeking His guidance through prayer, reading His word and praising Him, or do I take whatever is going on in my life in stride and keep my routine of focusing on Him first instead of my ever-changing whims, emotions and circumstances?
Realistically, I will most likely do both. In a way I look forward to my reaction when life’s storms come my way. I assume with all the storms He has brought me through I will automatically trust Him each and every time the cold winds blow in my life. But I also know it could just as easily be a helter skelter all hands-on deck kind of moment for me, His sheep, when that storm actually hits.
My ongoing human propensity to assign ever changing human attributes to a perfect Good Shepherd often keep me bewildered in the midst of a crisis. If I can’t stop the storm in my own life, how can He? Fortunately for me, I have an unmovable, unstoppable, all powerful, never changing good, Good Shepherd Who never leaves me. Ever. Whether I see or feel Him, He is with me every single moment of my life because He is God, and I am not. Thankfully, I am not.
Jackie Deems copyright 2023
