Thank you for the beautiful weeks of blogging and joining in on the journey of Scouting the Divine: My Search for God in Wine, Wool, and Wild Honey.
When I think back about my time, one of the most meaningful spiritual lessons about God as shepherd actually came from watching some geese in an old red barn while spending time with a shepherdess in Oregon. Thee geese were constantly walking around.
“What are they looking for?” I asked Lynne, the shepherdess.
“They’re looking for their eggs,” she said.
“Where are they?” I asked.
“I threw them in the creek,” she said.
My eyes bugged in disbelief. I couldn’t help blurting out—“Why?” Her actions seemed cold and cruel—a far cry from the woman I had come to know who tenderly loved on her sheep.
“Because they were infertile,” she said. “They never would have hatched. I need to get these geese back to their regular life. For three months they’ve been sitting on infertile eggs. The only way to get them to the life they’re supposed to be living is to take away their dead eggs.”
Though it sounded harsh at first, asking Lynne why, revealed her shepherd-like heart. Her answer helped me understand her action as one of compassion and wisdom not mean hearted vindictiveness. I couldn’t help but wonder how often I have sat on dreams that were never going to come to fruition.
As I thought back to the numerous times where God has faithfully yet painfully reminded me, “It’s time to get back to the life I have given you.” I recognize that this lesson isn’t one that I can learn just once and move on. Like many of the nuggets of wisdom and insight that I found on my journey of scouting the divine, I will need to process, apply, refine, process and reapply the truth of what living my life under the guidance of the Good Shepherd really means. But every step of the way, God is faithful. He is true. And He is worthy to be trusted.
Margaret Feinberg
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