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.

- - - - - -

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.