Man, sheep. Who knew? From a young age I think I was obsessed with sheep. My grandpa and I were driving once and we drove past some animals (that definitely weren’t sheep) and I yelled right in his face, “SHEEP POPPY, SHEEP!!” Thank God he didn’t swerve or crash after having something so random yelled in his face. In retrospect I think I just had a connection with sheep. Before I dive into what I mean by that, I want to update you all (mainly my parents) on how I’m doing and what’s up!!
- we’ll be in colombia tomorrow!!
- my birthday gift today is a ten minute shower with potentially lukewarm water!
- we get to sleep in the airport tonight!
- the Holy Spirit is alive and well and man he’s moving!
Now sheep!! This past week at training camp, this theme of shepherds and sheep has been coming up a ton! As I was prayer journaling yesterday I was reminded of one of my favorite verses that spoke such sweet words of peace and comfort to me in a time of sorrow. Last fall one of my best friend’s dad passed away and because I was going to school in washington I couldn’t mourn with or comfort my friend. Also due to the constant presence of my roommate I never could truly express the pain I was feeling. Luckily she showered one night and I just wept. I pulled out my phone and opened my bible app and Isaiah 40:11 was the verse of the day or something trippy like that.
““He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”
This is what the Lord spoke to me at that time. That he would gather me in his arms and hold me close to his heart.
As I journaled I remembered this and had this weird feeling that my name had something to do with it. I looked up what rachel means and no joke it means “ewe or female sheep.” Although the names we give our children seem trivial, I am confident mine was no mistake.
I think about the posture of being a lamb: weak, helpless, carefree and yet completely reliant on the shepherd. And that’s my prayer for these next six months. That I would be completely reliant on the Lord, my shepherd and be comforted by his rod and staff.
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