Sons of the Shepherd

  Six Geese A Laying New Life Can Come From Empty Places   “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” — Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)       After a short reprieve of five golden rings we come back to birds.  I have to wonder what the fascination was with birds.  Six geese a-laying isn’t the most glamorous Christmas gift.  To be quite honest I would be disappointed if my true love gave me geese.  Geese are not my favorite creatures.  They can be a little cranky and after living near a pond for three years I can say that they are a terribly messy bird.  This gift does have any  sparkle. No melody. No gold.   Just ordinary, everyday birds doing ordinary, everyday work: laying eggs.   And yet, this is one of the most profound symbols in the entire song—especially for a grieving heart.   Because eggs represent new beginnings.   Fragile beginnings.   Hidden be...

  The Garden – When New Life Begins to Bloom       Grief often feels like scorched earth, like life has been burned to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes.  Those once fruitful fields, bearing joy and happiness are laid waste to nothing.  Ashes replace where joy once sprouted.  The smell of smoke and decay fills your nostrils, almost making you sick. Your path is now one laid in memories.  As a widower, I've walked through those charred places of my heart, wondering if anything beautiful could ever grow again. I felt this preemptively as I watched my precious wife fight cancer.  Imagine being a farmer, watching your crops die but knowing that there was nothing you could do to save them.  That is how I felt about Tif's cancer battle.  I could love her, fight for her, cheer for her, encourage her, pray with her, stay with her, but I couldn't save her.  Now I find that the soil of loss feels hard, barren, and unyielding at times...