Only the Shepherd

For ages, I felt entitled to the care of the Shepherd.

At the same time, I denied His authority over my life.

So, when I saw Him willingly give His life to rescue mine,

His sacrifice gave this sheep completely new eyes.

I never knew I was blind,

Because my life of darkness hid it.

I never knew I was enslaved,

Because my addictions promised pleasure, next time.

I always thought myself clever,

Until the stampede I was part of went off a cliff.

I was always sure my way was best,

Until the stench of dung filled my well-trod path.

I thought I knew what would satisfy me,

But my pursuits only increased my emptiness.

I thought my ways were morally upright and true,

But they left me helplessly cast on my back.

Despite my waywardness, He gently calls me to follow Him.

And I have heard the Shepherd’s voice all my life,

But I thought His ways were too narrow.

I didn’t know He was the gate to wide green pastures.

In my blindness, He is the Light.

In my thirst, He is the Living Water.

In my gullibility, He is true Wisdom.

In my wandering, He is the Way.

In my longing, He is true Comfort.

In my depravity, He is my Salvation.

Now I know His voice, and I want to listen.

Now wherever He leads, I want to follow.

Now I trust His ways more than I trust my own

Now it is my turn to sacrifice all for Him.

Only through His sacrifice do I know am worthy of love.

Only in His loving eyes can I face my broken self.

Only in my brokenness can I let the Shepherd lead me.

And only the Good Shepherd can lead this sheep home.

Patti McCarthy Broderick

May 2022

Isaiah 53: 6 (NIV): “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

John 10:14-15 (NIV): “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” - Jesus