While living in Spain during my junior high days, my family, consisting of three sisters (one an infant) and one brother along with my parents, was traveling by car from one town to another on dirt, gravel and cobblestone roads.
Happily "oohing" and "ahhing" at the many foreign sights along the way, we suddenly heard my Mom yell, "Stop!" at the top of her lungs. Of course, being the rowdy kids we were all talking at one time, we thought Mom had had enough of the five of us all crammed into a small car. We immediately hushed.
Up ahead on the road, Mom saw with her myopic eyes what she thought were boxes blocking the entire road! Lots of them; all sizes, mostly large. She feared Dad would run right into them and we would have an accident. He slowed down but kept cautiously approaching the "boxes." She looked at him as if he had not heard her the first time. "Stop," she said again.
Dad just reached over and squeezed her hand and said, "It's OK. It's OK. I'm stopping, but just to let the sheep and their shepherd cross the road!" Mom had not expected her eyes to fail her like that, I'm sure. The giggles started in the back seat. Chuckles began and turned into slam-bang, side-splitting laughter that lasted until we couldn't breathe. We definitely were not laughing at her and so, eventually, Mom saw the humor. It's a story that to this day still brings laughter to our family.
In trying to get his flock across a road, a shepherd will wait until all of the sheep are safely across and then will continue to direct them. Sometimes to get to the other side, though, they have to go through dangerous traffic, potholes, hills and valleys. Just like we do on life’s path.
We have certainly crossed the barricades and traps of a life gone sour. No one ever said our single-again lives would be easy. That's why it's important to find friends going through your particular stage of divorce or widowhood.
Just know that with the help of our Shepherd, we can all have a safe crossing onto the next road in our journey because He truly cares for us.
“My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." John 10:10(b)
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