John 10:1-5 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the
sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a
robber. 2 The one who enters by the
gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The
gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls
his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When
he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow
him because they know his voice. 5 But
they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because
they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, always acts with integrity and
can be fully trusted. He doesn’t scatter or harm his sheep, but personally
interacts and calls each one by name. He leads His sheep in the right
direction. He doesn’t always hold and carry each sheep and doesn’t have any of
His sheep on a leash, but He is always there to protect and lead. As His sheep,
we have the responsibility to listen and follow, even through difficult
terrain.
In February last year, James and Sarah’s biological
parents’ rights were finally terminated. However, more uncertainties surfaced.
Their biological mom had a certain amount of time to appeal and she said she
did appeal. In addition, an uncle was found that wanted the children and a
former foster family expressed interest in adopting them. We appeared further
down on the list of possible parents.
Since the children were now up for adoption, a new
adoption worker and adoption organization were given their case. Knowing we
were one of several couples in the “hat,” we nervously continued a new round of
interviews, fingerprints, physicals, background checks, paper work, etc. All
the while, we were growing in our love for the kids as we continued to do
weekend respite care. It was a daily struggle to not let all the uncertainties
weigh me down and stress me out. We kept praying for God’s will and direction
while continually remembering that He’s the one who brought us together in the
first place!
In what situation right now do you and I need to trust
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and follow His lead? He cares for us, loves us and is
always there to lead us!
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