As a Lost Sheep

I always imagine if I were a character in the Christmas Story, I would probably be one of the shepherds.  When the angels arrived to tell of Christ's birth, odds are I would have been outside taking care of animals.  I have a little ornament that I keep on my desk in my office that is a model horse, with the nativity painted on one side, and on the other is a depiction of a shepherd with his sheep, staring at the new star, with the city far away on the horizon.  This is precisely how I picture myself in the story, standing in my field with my animals, the city a light in the distance, and Christ's star the brightest thing in the sky.

I also love the story of the good shepherd and the lost sheep.

“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

“And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” Luke 15:4-5

In my church, we often (mostly) discuss this story in the context of going to rescue the one person who is having trouble.  If you're sitting in Sunday school and this story is discussed, it's discussed as important to visit the sick, to assist the individual with strong doubts, to make friends with your next door neighbor who may not be Mormon.  I think this is important, I can think of many scriptures where Christ tells his followers to be of assistance to those who need it.

However, if I were a character in this story, I'm the lamb that got lost.  In this field of life, I desperately want to feel safe, I want to feel at home.  As a horse trainer, at my ranch I create a safe place for each horse to find what he likes to do and what he is good at.  I provide safety, shelter, protection, food, water, and psychological security.  I take charge of things so they don't need to be afraid of predators on the horizon, imagined or real.  I want someone to do for me what I do for my horses, and in this need I find God.

In the words of the hymn, Come Thou Fount:  
Jesus, sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it.

Elder Uchtdorf is an apostle in my church, and he said this last weekend in general conference:

"My dear brothers and sisters, my dear friends, I testify that God sees us as we truly are—and He sees us worthy of rescue.  You may feel that your life is in ruins. You may have sinned. You may be afraid, angry, grieving, or tortured by doubt. But just as the Good Shepherd finds His lost sheep, if you will only lift up your heart to the Savior of the world, He will find you.

He will rescue you.

He will lift you up and place you on His shoulders.

He will carry you home."

I'll continue to act as a good steward and shepherd my horses through their journey in life, and I'll continue to find that same security and feeling of home in my faith because of this otherworldly protection I receive from God.

Forgiveness

Twice yearly my church does a worldwide broadcast where the church leadership speaks and addresses all the membership and the world.  The leaders of the various organizations within the church speak, so we hear from a variety of men and women speaking about many different topics.  These weekends are called General Conference, and are held on the first weekends in April and October. 

I really liked a talk from Saturday morning this weekend about forgiveness.  It was given by Kevin R. Duncan, and he opened with the remark, "There is not a soul alive who will not, at one time or another, be the victim to someone else's careless actions, hurtful conduct, or even sinful behavior.  That is one thing we all have in common."

My mind began to wander towards the little things that are frustrating to me about the other people I deal with regularly.  I need to forgive those little offenses, realize the person is behaving that way because of something going on in his life, not mine, then them go. 

What about the big offenses?  The ones that create real harm, injury, emotional or physical pain?  Elder Duncan mentioned in the talk that forgiveness is really more for the person doing the forgiving.  If you forgive someone, that doesn't mean that there will be no justice for the one who wronged you.  "What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit."  Alma 42:25 

Because there needs to be a balance between justice and mercy, Christ came to bridge the gap between them.  He suffered for our perpetrator's sins, wrongs, and offenses, so that we need only forgive Him, and He shall take care of the justice end.  He also suffered for my individual sins and mistakes, so that He can offer me mercy when I need it.

"And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also." Alma 42:15

I also liked the idea that I need to look at people more the way God sees them.  Elder Duncan mentioned we look at other people the way we see an iceberg, and that there's a lot below the surface which God knows about in others that we never see.  I try to remember this when I'm dealing with difficult people, that I'm only seeing the tip of the iceberg and there are likely many other factors making this person behave this way.  As a trainer, with horses I feel fortunate to have the knowledge and skills to often determine these other factors in challenging training situation.  But I'm a terrible mind reader of humans and I don't have nearly as much accuracy with guessing about two legged mammals.

To paraphrase slightly, Elder Duncan mentions that as mortal humans on this traveling rock through the universe we are all victims, and we are all offenders.  He also gave a nod to the current political climate in the US by rephrasing a familiar scripture,

For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 1 Sam 16:7

"God looketh not upon the color of the sports' team jersey, nor upon the political party."

One more thought I liked from this talk was in reference to running my business as a horse trainer.  I feel like often in the horse industry, especially when there are shows and prize money on the line, we professionals think of each other as competition.  I much prefer the idea that we are colleagues, each with our own set of skills, strengths, and weaknesses.  Elder Duncan said that "Our genuine concern should be for the success of others" and I agree.  I much prefer to rejoice with my colleagues on their accomplishments and good scores, to feel pleased that they are having success with their clients and in the show ring.  As I get to know them better I am then able to refer my own clients to them when I'm unable to address a certain issue or circumstance, and it becomes more of a comfortable partnership.  Colleagues, not competition.