Friendships, Part 2

What do sheep, The Frog Prince, and a pig herder have in common? 

Clue #1: Many of us remember the Grimm's brother's fairytale of good over evil vs. the younger generation's tamer Disney animated version. They tell of a prince turned into a frog by an evil hag as punishment. Removing the curse requires a real princess. Remember? Well, I heard a new version while at a church family camp. The chaplain wanted to reach all ages- from preschoolers to teens and adults. The essence was that everyone has bad times in life. From down days to depression to actual tragedies. The church's responsibility is to be attentive to possible needs and to provide help as God directs;  ranging from a simple smile or hug to providing for needs, such as food, babysitting, cleaning, running errands, or offering transportation.

That week resulted in me being asked if I was having a froggish moment and receiving more hugs than I probably had all of my growing-up years.

Clue #2: A story, shared by Ann Spangler.

 "I  met Judith Fain when she was a doctoral candidate at the University of Durham. As was her habit at the time, she was spending several months of the year in Israel. One day, while walking on a road near Bethlehem, Judith spotted three shepherds approaching each other with their separate flocks of sheep. When the three men stopped to converse, their flocks began to intermingle. Judith couldn’t imagine how the shepherds were ever going to sort out which sheep belonged to them since by now they had melted into one large flock. Several minutes later, as the men said their goodbyes, she learned the trick. 

"Magically, as the shepherds called out to their sheep, the one large flock sorted itself into three separate flocks, with each sheep following the voice of its shepherd.

"Her experience illustrates why the land of Israel has often been called the fifth gospel. Two thousand years after the death of Christ it still testifies to his words and teachings. Hadn’t Jesus assured those who had flocked to him: I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me?

"One after another, the promises of our Good Shepherd are intended to communicate who we are and who He is. We are weak, vulnerable, and beloved.  He is our strong, protecting Shepherd."

Clue #3:  A missionary from Africa, shared he was trying to teach the meaning of the 23rd Psalm. All faces looked blank. No one was comprehending anything even though he had a translator. That week he wrote a paraphrase, which read "The Lord is my pig herder, I won't need anything." His African congregation responded with great joy. They had never seen or heard of sheep, but they understood how the pig herder cared for this major resource.

In the previous post, Balaam, a prophet was not listening to the Lord. So God spoke through his donkey. (Dee Numbers 22:21-35.)

All three clues allude to Jesus, our role model for being caring encouragers, which can result in deep friendships. We are only asked to be available or as Max Lucado says, "Let God use you as a conduit" to reach out to others.

The key is being open to God's plan and learning good communication skills.