Description
You were cold when I found you.
Wet.
Covered in mud.
And hurt more badly than you understood.
You had wandered far from where you were safe.
And out there, alone...
you weren't going to survive.
So I came looking for you.
I picked you up...
even though you were filthy.
Even though you fought me at first.
You didn't know my hands yet.
You didn't know that I wasn't there to hurt you.
I carried you home.
I washed away the mud.
I gave you food when you were too weak to find it yourself.
I gave you warmth...
and a safe place to rest.
Your leg was broken.
And setting it hurt.
I know.
You didn't understand why I held you still...
why I wrapped it...
why I wouldn't let you walk wherever you wanted.
For a little while, I even had to keep you behind a gate.
You probably thought I was keeping you prisoner.
But I wasn't keeping you from life.
I was keeping you alive.
And little by little...
you healed.
You began to stand.
Then walk.
Then run.
The wounds closed.
Your strength returned.
And the frightened little creature I carried out of the mud...
wasn't so little anymore.
Then one day...
the gate opened.
You were ready.
Go.
Run.
Live the life you were created to live.
You are not the creature I found dying in the mud.
You have been washed.
You have been healed.
You have been made new.
And you have a new name.
Mine.
So go back into the world.
But remember...
you never go alone.
I am your Shepherd.
I know you.
I love you.
And wherever you wander...
I will be watching.
Just keep listening for My voice.
Because My sheep know My voice...
and I know them...
and they follow Me.