The Lord is our Shepherd all year long

We don’t hear much about shepherds these days - except maybe around Christmas time. I remember traveling through India when I was in college and while we were hiking through a mountainous area, we met an actual shepherd. He had just assisted one of his sheep in delivering her little lamb. I remember being so impressed with how gentle and loving he was to these animals, and how trusting the animals were of him. It’s an image I’ve never forgotten.

Flash forward thirty years. My family had just gone through a terrible loss, and I was having a difficult time moving forward and keeping my head up. My faith was being sorely tested. But I kept praying. I pray a lot - every day actually. One of my favorite prayers is the 23rd Psalm, which begins, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” I knew in my heart this was true, but this particular day I felt as gloomy and grey as the raw winter weather outside. However, as I passed by a local gallery my attention was grabbed by a painting in the window. It was a large oil painting of a mother sheep lying down and resting her head on her little lamb. The faces of both creatures expressed pure love and contentment. In that brief moment while looking at this painting I felt free of sorrow and despair. There was a hint of hope as I walked away. I began to feel the presence of God, my Shepherd, leading me out of “the valley of the shadow of death.”

A year later, in a much happier state, I remembered that painting while working at the Christian Science Reading Room. Long story short - it’s now hanging in my bedroom. I snuggle under its comforting presence every night with that same gentle reminder that the Lord is my Shepherd. I love how Mary Baker Eddy, the author of a wonderful companion book to the Bible, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, throws light on the 23rd Psalm - bringing out the spiritual sense of the Lord. She writes, “[Divine Love] is my shepherd; I shall not want. [Love] maketh me to lie down in green pastures: [Love] leadeth me beside the still waters. [Love] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [Love] leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [Love] is with me; [Love’s] rod and [Love’s] staff they comfort me. [Love] prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: [Love] anointeth my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [Love] for ever”. ¹

This Psalm is a “pocket prayer” - one that I carry around with me everywhere I go. We all have this same loving Shepherd, this Divine Love, guiding us and leading us through difficult times all year long. And I’m realizing more and more every day that this Shepherd is always present, always acting on our behalf, and always allowing us to feel the peace and contentment of dwelling in the consciousness of Love.