The scripture passage for today is so familiar that we could all probably recite it by heart. But it was the devotion that really caught me off guard. I don’t know about you but the shepherds I see in our Christmas pageants are not dirty or smelly, they are adorable. They are the children and grandchildren of my friends. They are the ones that we smile and wave at, the ones that we applaud for, the ones that we lavish with praise. They do not make me uncomfortable in the least.
I wonder how it would change our attitude we viewed the other dirty, smelly ‘shepherds’ God has placed in our lives as the adult children or grandchildren of our friends? Would it allow us to smile or wave instead of pretending we do not see them? Would we be more at ease around them instead of always viewing them with suspicion? Would we worry less about being ‘taken’ and simply offer a gift like we do with the children of a friend? Probably. And could we even get to the point where we trusted that they too might have something of value to add to the conversation? (Ouch!) I don’t know about you but I am thinking that this is not going to be the easiest Lenten season and we are only on Day 2.