Sons of the Shepherd

TWO TURTLE DOVES Permission to Feel Both Joy and Sorrow “We are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”  — 2 Corinthians 6:10       My favorite number is the number 13.  That might sound like an odd favorite number since 13 is often viewed with superstition but that was my jersey number when I played little league.  Most people have favorite numbers, some of them are so convinced that there number is lucky that they gamble or look for some mystical meaning behind it.  I have a least favorite number, the number two.  Two represents friendship, togetherness, it is the light that is shed on loneliness.  I loved being two.  Scripture speaks that two are better than one.  When person loses their spouse they lose their right arm, they lose their best friend, they lost their identity. I can’t wait to be part of a duo again, to be a pair.       The song now takes us to the turtle doves.  The two turtle doves picture a ...

  When Joy Sprouts Again "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." ~ Psalm 30:5       One of my favorite pastimes is gardening.  Tif and I used to garden all the time.  We would grow tomatoes, onion, squash, okra, all kinds of peppers (loved growing habaneros), green beans, lettuce, spinach, and the list could go on and on.  One particular plant that we could never seem to get rid of was cherry tomatoes.  Once a plant went to seed it seemed like each year multiple volunteer plants would break through the soil, even if I didn't want them to come back.  I didn't have to intentionally plant cherry tomatoes for three years, they just kept coming back.  This reminds me a lot of my intial steps with grief.  Prior to losing Tiffanie I was a pretty happy go lucky guy.  I was always trying to find the bright side, despite being a natural born worrier.  But Tif's cancer journey and death shifted something in me...