“Sam, wake up! We’re going to be late for church.”

Samantha stuffed the pillow over her head and groaned as her father’s knock sounded on the bedroom door. The last thing she wanted to do on a Sunday morning was sit through a boring sermon. She had to deal with school five days a week. Why did she need a lecture on Sundays, too? Church wasn’t so bad when she was younger. Sunday School was actually fun. But just like she’d outgrown Sunday School, she’d outgrown her need for God. Her life was pretty good. What did she need Jesus for? Still, as long as she lived in this house, which would be for another two years before she headed to college, she had to attend church with the family. Sighing, she rolled over and planted her feet on the floor.

The next morning, the scenario repeated itself, but this time, there was no internal debate. She could do without many of her classes, but she loved biology. Today they were picking projects. She readied herself quickly.

“Take your seats, class.” Mr. Robinson stood behind his desk. “I’ve decided your next project will be a research assignment on animals.”

Samantha perked up. “Can we choose any animal?”

Mr Robinson’s mustache twitched. “I wanted to see a diverse representation of animals, so I choose 25 of them. One for every member of the class.” He lifted a small bucket from his desk. “You’ll each choose one.”

Samantha’s mind swirled. Would she get something exotic like a boa constrictor? Or fascinating, like the duck-billed platypus? Maybe a noble animal like a panther. Oh, the possibilities were endless. She reached into the bucket and pulled out a slip of paper. Excited, she unfolded it to find… sheep.

Wait, what? She thrust her hand in the air. “Mr. Robinson, I think there’s a mistake.”

Mr. Robinson halted on his way down the row of desks. “What seems to be the problem?”

“I got sheep.”

“And?”

“How can I possibly do an entire research project on sheep? They’re super boring.”

Mr. Robinson’s eyes twinkled. “I think you’ll be surprised.” He continued doling out the animals, and then explained the requirements for the assignment. All Samantha could think about though, was how disappointing this project would be.

After school, she stared at her laptop screen, trying to muster up the interest to look up facts about sheep, when a knock sounded on her bedroom door.

“Yeah?”

Samantha turned as both parents entered her room. “Why are you both home from work already?”

“We have something to tell you.” Mom’s face was serious.

Samantha’s pulse skyrocketed. “What’s going on? Are you guys getting a divorce?”

Dad draped an arm around Mom’s shoulders. “Never.”

“Then why do you look so serious?”

Mom blew out a breath. “I got some concerning news from my doctor today. It seems I have cancer.”

Samantha leaped from her desk chair and wrapped her arms around her mother. “Oh, Mom!” Her eyes filled with tears as Mom held her close.

Mom patted her back. “Hey. I’m tough. I’m going to beat this. But I am going to need your help around here, and with your brothers. They’re too young to understand much other than Mommy is sick.”

“Of course, Mom. Whatever you need.”

The rest of the week went by in a blur. Mom started treatment on Friday, and by Sunday morning, still wasn’t up to going to church. Still, faithful as clockwork, Dad rapped on her door.

Samantha sat up. “Are we still going without Mom?”

Dad opened the door. “Yes. She needs to rest, but the rest of us need our Good Shepherd more than ever right now.” He closed the door behind him, leaving Samantha to ponder his words. Mom needed her help right now. It was usually the other way around. Mom guided and cared for their family. But if Mom couldn’t do it, where did that leave them? Could God be trusted to lead their family? Is that what Dad meant?

After church, Dad took the boys to the park and Samantha checked on Mom. After setting her up with a glass of ice water and some crackers, Samantha returned to her computer. She’d been putting off the sheep assignment all week, but it was due tomorrow. She also couldn’t get Dad’s words out of her head. If Jesus was the Good Shepherd, it was because He thought of His people as sheep. So maybe sheep were important after all.

She opened the search engine and read about the wooly mammals. She made notes of some of the more interesting facts.

• Sheep have powerful memories and can recognize faces. They can remember up to 50 individual sheep and human faces for years.
• Sheep are highly social. They form close bonds. They get stressed when they’re isolated.
• Sheep follow a leader and stay with their flock.
• Sheep have excellent peripheral vision. They actually have rectangular pupils which allow them to see nearly all-around.
• Despite their wide view, they have poor depth perception and struggle to see what’s directly in front of their noses.

Samantha stared at her list. Sheep were smart, social, and followed a leader. Sure, there were some interesting facts she read about how much wool they could grow in a year and the fact that New Zealand had more sheep than people, but the things that mattered most were on her list.

As weird as it sounded, Samantha could relate to sheep. She loved being around others. As much as her little brothers drove her nuts sometimes, she loved her family, her flock. And she was wrong last week when she said she didn’t need God. Ever since Mom’s announcement on Monday, Samantha had been praying non-stop. She definitely needed the guidance of the Good Shepherd in her life. And just like a sheep, even though she didn’t have rectangular-shaped pupils, she had struggled to see what was right in front of her nose. Her Good Shepherd loved her and would care for her, no matter what life threw her way.

Maybe it wasn’t what Mr. Robinson had in mind, but an hour later, Samantha put together an essay all about the qualities sheep share with humans, along with several Biblical references, demonstrating the importance of sheep in the Christian faith.

She uploaded the essay to the school server and headed to Mom’s room.

“Hey Mom? I was wondering if you’d like to pray together.”

Psalm 100:3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm. 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…

God, You truly are the Good Shepherd. No matter how far we stray, you are always willing to lead us back to safety. Thank you for providing peace, comfort, and safety, even when life throws trials our way. If we follow You, we will end up where we are meant to be. What comfort and peace there is in that! Help us see that You are right in front of our face, ready to guide us, if only we’re willing to follow. In Jesus’ name, Amen.