I chose to name my blog "Shepherd's Wife" for that is what I am.... the wife of a shepherd. A spiritual shepherd...
Shepherd is defined as:
- - somebody tending sheep: somebody who looks after sheep
- - somebody providing guidance: somebody who is responsible for caring for and guiding a group of people
- - tend sheep: to look after sheep
Yes, I am married to a shepherd.....A calling that God placed on my husband's life years ago....over 30 years ago. It has been a joy to watch him grow as a tender and wise pastor over these years...
A Shepherd's Wife.....It isn't what I would have necessarily chosen... It isn't what I felt prepared for....It isn't what I ever felt equipped for.....but what God chose for me. I am blessed.
Blessed, because our life is spent for things of eternity.... Our life is spent helping, guiding, encouraging and caring for people.... It is a high and holy calling.... A difficult calling at times.... but a precious calling.
I say "our life" because I am his wife... and I have been called to be his help meet. My first calling is to him.... to love him, encourage him, take care of him. It IS my greatest calling.
Interesting enough, my great grandmother was the wife of a shepherd... a farmer and shepherd of real sheep. But she was not surrendered to the life of her husband and she became bitter. I have read some of her writings.... and she longed for the nicer things in life (which he could not provide her with); she longed for his constant attention (which he could not give her); she longed and dreamed for a different life that she had, and became bitter and cold towards him. Their marriage eventually ended in divorce. It is a sad story.
But not so with my life... it is not a sad story... It is a glorious story... a story of redemption. A story of God's calling on the life of two people who surrendered their hearts to Him. A story of what God can do in lives that are willing to follow, willing to serve, willing to lead.... willing.
I'm grateful for the Lord captivating my heart so many years ago. That my desire is to please Him and Him alone. Because of His great love in my life, my greatest passion is to stand before Him one day and look into His eyes and hear "Well done, my good and faithful Lynda... well done, Lynda, wife of my precious servant, Pastor Chuck. Well done, Lynda, mother of those two children I gave you to raise and nurture. Well done, Lynda, teacher of my Word. Well done, Lynda, that friend of so many. Well done, Lynda, grandmother to those precious lives I brought into your family... Well done, daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, pastor's wife, daughter of the King of King and Lord of Lords!" That is my passion.
And so I name my blog Shepherd's Wife... for though I am many things.... A woman, a daughter, a mother, a grandmother, a friend, a teacher, a homemaker, I am the wife of a shepherd... and that one fact has changed and shaped who I am in all these other aspects of my life.
My life is blessed... the wife of a Shepherd.
