Following the Shepherd...

 

Our local Shepherd is back this week. He didn't come last spring and so Maiki hadn't seen sheep since she was a tiny puppy. But today the meadow was home to a couple of hundred sheep and goats. Thankfully, my little sheepdog showed them respect and didn't decide to follow in her parents' footsteps and practise her herding skills.

Every time I see the shepherd, it makes me think of Psalm 23: the way he leads them each day to a new area of green pastures and watches them carefully to protect them from any predators.

But the phrase that stood out to me today was verse one: "The Lord is my Shepherd; I will never be in need."

You see, right now I do feel in need... and I'm needing one of the most basic things in life: a home, a place of safety and shelter. I know that my Shepherd has always cared for me throughout my whole lifetime, and so I don't really understand why there's still been no breakthrough in my need for a new home.

There aren't many water sources in our Sierra and I wonder if the sheep, as they follow the shepherd, sometimes feel the same way I do today: they know they're following faithfully in the Shepherd's footsteps and they ask themselves why he's not providing them with any water. But the shepherd knows more than they do, and he knows that a tank of water or a small underground spring is just around the corner.

I can imagine no reason why it's taking so long for me to find a new place to live. .. but the only thing I can do is trust that the Shepherd knows where it is and what He's doing.

Of course, finding closed doors at every turn has meant that I've also been asking myself some hard questions: Is there something I'm missing? Something I'm doing wrong? Somewhere else I'm supposed to be?

I've prayed long and hard about whether I should go to spend a season with my Mum in Scotland... but there are multiple reasons why that probably wouldn't be wise... not least that it might jeopardise my residency and my healthcare here in Spain. And I've had friends phone from other countries, offering to put me up for a few months' there.

Being out of Spain, however, would mean that I wouldn't be able to continue the search for a long term solution; I saw that very clearly when I was in Scotland for the whole month of February. And so I'm staying here for now, in the place where God put me, and trusting that there will be some sort of breakthrough before too long. People are sending me scriptures like 1 Corinthians 15: 58 - "Stand firm; let nothing move you."- and this seems to be confirming what I'm already feeling from the Lord.

One housing situation is already certain. Psalm 23 finishes by saying that, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." But before I get to that particular home, all I can do is keep trusting that there's also a home for me this side of eternity, and that God will lead me to it when the timing is right. Thanks for your prayers.