Caring, Tending, Mending
Spring Gathering by Andris Bergs, Hawes
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 (CEV)
The Lord Is the Good Shepherd
11 The Lord God then said:
I will look for my sheep and take care of them myself, 12 just as a shepherd looks for lost sheep. My sheep have been lost since that dark and miserable day when they were scattered throughout the nations. But I will rescue them 13 and bring them back from the foreign nations where they now live. I will be their shepherd and will let them graze on Israel’s mountains and in the valleys and fertile fields. 14 They will be safe as they feed on grassy meadows and green hills. 15 I promise to take care of them and keep them safe, 16 to look for those that are lost and bring back the ones that wander off, to bandage those that are hurt and protect the ones that are weak. I will also slaughter[b] those that are fat and strong, because I always do right.
20 So I, the Lord God, will separate you strong sheep from the weak. 21 You strong ones have used your powerful horns to chase off those that are weak, 22 but I will rescue them and no longer let them be mistreated. I will separate the good from the bad.
23 After that, I will give you a shepherd from the family of my servant King David. All of you, both strong and weak, will have the same shepherd, and he will take good care of you.24 He will be your leader, and I will be your God. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Dark,
lost,
wandering.
The sheep are everywhere,
scattered,
away from safety,
in need of care.
I will go,
search them out,
bring them home,
feed them,
safe,
cared for,
protected.
Holding the lost,
tenderly nursing the hurt,
mending the broken,
protecting the weak.
Loving,
caring,
nurturing,
gently.
But you
have you chased the weak,
broken them further?
Crushed them?
I’m going to separate
the good from the bad,
the needy
from those putting them
in that position,
the strong will no longer
be able to hurt the weak.
And I will come,
lead,
take care.
I will be your shepherd,
I am your God.
I love you.
Pam's Perambulation 
It’s good to know that in the eyes of God it’s OK to be weak, fragile, damaged… that His response is to seek me out, over and over if necessary… that He doesn’t blame for brokenness, rather that He joins me in my brokenness and shows me how to become whole…
and also, on reflection, that it’s OK if sometimes I’m strong… best, of course, not to use that strenght to oppress the weak, but nevertheless to be strong is not, of itself, wrong. I can rejoice in times of strength, in a sense of “I did that brilliantly well”, in an awareness of the extent of my giftedness – and the same Loving Shepherd will tend me and guide me in those moments as He does in moments of extreme weakness and failure… and at all those inbetween times when I’m neither weak nor strong, but simply everyday ordinary average…