A Reflection from the Lake District by Gill Henwood.

When you witness the care a shepherd has for his or her flock, the 23rd Psalm comes to mind:

The Lord’s my shepherd and The King of Love my shepherd is.

The young farmer below our window is only 24, and has been building up his own flock for two years.
He’s here by dawn and returns in the evenings at dusk to check his expectant ewes who wait in the long sheep shed that belongs to his retired grandfather. They baa when they hear his 4×4 coming up the track, knowing he will bring hay.
He’s working his way to a farm tenancy of his own – there is no farmhouse on this small acreage of land.

Upland fell farmers are part of the countryside and community here, and this area was cherished by Beatrix Potter a century ago, who, with the National Trust, bought and saved farms for the nation.
She too was a breeder of Herdwick sheep and a show judge.
Her shepherds, and the shepherds of today, care for their flocks and seeing them brings to mind, Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

Gill Henwood

Here is a version of Psalm 23 written by my friend,Joyce Smith in her Reflections for Lent in 2021.

Bible Reading: Psalm 23 “I will dwell in the house of the Lord, my whole life long.“

The Lord is my Shepherd;
who guides,
nourishes,
and  protects me.

My Shepherd,
who looks for me                   
when I lose my way.
and carries me
safely home.

My Shepherd,
who longs for me,
and  for
‘sheep from many different flocks’,
to dwell in his house,
both now
and for all eternity.

Jesus, my Shepherd,
help me to
fix my eyes on you
and follow
where you lead.

(Joyce Smith)

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