Many years ago a young boy spent many hours building a toy sailboat. He used sandpaper, and sanded the hull until it was silky smooth. It was painted a deep royal blue. The sails were made of cotton from his mom’s remnant bag.

What is the good of having a boat if you can not sail it on the water? One afternoon the boy and his family drove to a local lake. The weather had been dry, and the lake was low. After the young boy had secured a string to the boat to keep it from getting away, he lowered the little boat into the water.

Although the string was strong, it got caught on a piece of driftwood and in trying to pull it loose, the string snapped, and the boat floated free across the lake. Since the water level was low the young boy was able to track it with his eyes. He followed it as it was swept along until it was washed over to a dry part of the lake. Quickly the young boy waded out into the water, and squished across the muddy bank to grab it and take it safely home. The boy returned covered in mud, but triumphant because his boat was saved. He had other boats, but this one was important, too.

This is how our Savior Jesus Christ cares for us. Christ is our shepherd. He is the Good Shep herd. A shepherd cares for his own, and will search for and find any missing sheep, and bring them safely home.

Each of us is a special child of God. We, like the boat, are tethered to God by prayer. Sometimes our prayer lives break down, but God is still there listening and waiting. We are always in His sight even when we are not doing his will. God will continue to reach out to us until we are brought safely home.

Remember the words of Luke 15: 4-6, “Which of you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave 99 in the wilderness to go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’”

Praise God that we are His beloved children!