Jehovah Rohi - Part 2 of 2

When I thought about how to write from the Shepherd's point of view, the aspect of a Shepherd that stood out strongly was his voice. Voices are so distinctly connected to a person. Think of how many voices you could probably identify with no other sense cues. President Obama's voice, radio DJs, your family members. I always try to guess which actor or actress is speaking for the character in an animated movie. Voices can evoke feelings. Think of how you feel when you hear your loved one's voice. Voices are powerful. This is my interpretation of Jesus the Shepherd's point of view. (Thanks for reading, Aunt Rene! You encourage me!)
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My sheep,
I could yell to you,
Or I could whisper.
With sharp commands,
Gentle guidance,
Happy encouragement,
Reprimands.
I could make my voice drown out all other voices.
I could speak over your dreams,
Tell you how I love you,
Teach you with my stores of wisdom,
Amaze you with the supernatural,
The miraculous.

You seem eager to know Me,
Your Shepherd,
But My voice will hold no meaning or strength
Until you accept and know that
This voice belongs to Me.

You know your mother's voice,
You recognize the voice of a predator,
You stop in your tracks at another shepherd's call,
But there is only one voice like mine.

When you allow your heart to know who owns this voice,
That this is the voice of the One who lays down His life for you,
Then

My very breath will calm your trembling heart.

When I speak your name,
Your legs will carry you to my side.

I will not need to yell,
Or repeat myself,
Because you will know Me,
My voice,
Like I know you,
My sheep.

Jehovah Rohi - Part 1 of 2

I want to explore the names of God through writing. Today, I am meditating on Jehovah Rohi, the Lord my Shepherd. For the first installment, I tried to understand this aspect of God from the perspective of the sheep.

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Chomp, munch, chew, chew… swallow
Look up, look back
Chomp, munch, chew, chew… swallow
Look up

Listen

Nothing
Chomp, munch, chew, chew… swallow

If you ask me, there’s no greater life than that of a sheep
Look at me – I’m surrounded on all sides by lush pastures
Each blade of grass beckoning me with a breezy flick of green
I’ve got all the time I need to graze every lovely, delectable patch
Sigh
When I’m full, I head down to the stream for a refreshing drink
And maybe a nap

The only bad part about being a sheep is the constant fear
You never know when a predator will come
Or a storm
Storms are awful
And wet
And scary

We sheep are notorious for getting lost
I guess that’s another downside
One time I got so focused on eating that I ate myself
Right off a cliff
That would’ve been my last mouthful
If a ledge hadn’t been right there to catch me
I wailed and cried out until it got dark
Wouldn’t you know, my Shepherd appeared over the ledge!
He just looked down at me like I was his own child or something
Scooped me up over his shoulders
-which really freaked me out, by the way –
And carried me back to the others
He’d left all of them to find me
Imagine that!

Anyway,
Chomp, munch, chew, chew… swallow
The Shepherd takes us on all these long walks
Big hills, chew… swallow
Rocks and stuff to go around
It’s awful
But I’d never leave him
There’s something about his voice that soothes me
I want to follow him when I hear it
Remember – I get lost, you know
My mama called me a wanderer
But with the Shepherd, I know he’ll always
Keep me with him
His rod and staff are kind of like his voice
They keep me close
So I don’t get away too far
But I’m pretty sure that even if I got away again
Like last time
He’d come for me
He’s my Shepherd, you know
I’m his sheep
We’re supposed to stick together.

Love Your Enemies

“Miss Caldwell, Joey is driving me nuts. I told him to stop and he won’t stop. He’s pretending like he can’t hear me. So, I told him, ‘I’m going to tell the teacher,’ and he said, ‘Go ahead! See if I care!’”

“Hey, this is your chance to practice. How can you treat him kindly?”

“NO WAY. No. Not gonna do it. I’ll just ignore him or something.”

“Come on, Jenny. Think with me. How can you reach out to the person who bothers you the most? Can you compliment him? Say, ‘Hey, Joey! You are really doing great with Math today!’”

“Noooooo! Miss Caldwell, that is SO awkward.”

“Okay. Um, does he need anything right now? Can you help out or something?”

“Well, he doesn’t get how to find the Math game website, but that’s why he was bugging me already.”

“There you go! Seriously. Try helping him. I’ll sit here and watch what happens. This may soften his heart or change your attitude. Just try.”

“Ugh! Okay! I’m taking Becca with me though.”
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My students have been struggling to get along lately. It’s become Tattle Fest 2011. They write me post-it notes describing each incident and put them in a basket on my desk. They even tattle in pre-emptive anticipation of being ratted out. “Riley is plotting something against me so I had to shut him out of the game. I didn’t have a choice.”

It made for some frustrating days at school. The kids and I spent a long time discussing our unsettled environment at a recent class meeting. They were too upset to agree on any resolutions. At one point, I offered a suggestion, “You know, there’s a saying that talks about being kind to your enemies…”
“No!” they were adamantly against the idea. We ended the meeting with a goal to come up with more ideas overnight and discuss again the next day.

The next morning, I brought it before the Lord. I felt like He encouraged me with respect to one particular student and also gave me a sense of peace about the rest. When we held our class meeting that morning, out of nowhere, lots of kids suggested something to the effect of being kind to people that bug us. What??? Are these the same kids who almost booed me yesterday? Yep! They were convinced. November should be “Be nice to your enemy” month.

So, it stuck. The above dialogue shows some of the stretching that’s occurring in their precious hearts. And by precious, I mean precious. Not cute, but incredibly valuable. And, honestly, the Jenny / Joey interaction wasn’t a huge “Aha!” moment - at least not outwardly. They didn’t hug or skip around singing songs. Jenny told me helping Joey did nothing for her heart and it was “crazy hard to be nice to him”. I’m not convinced. I know my Lord. I have to believe that some piece of Jenny changed forever because she chose to love her enemy, rather than treat him in a way that felt justified. I choose to believe that my Lord has plans to prosper Jenny and He’s continuing that work with every fraction of an inch she takes toward His truth.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” –Matthew 5:43 – 45

(all names have been changed, except for mine :))