Found: One Sheep

“And O! be sure to fear the Lord alway,
And mind your duty, duly, morn and night;
Lest in temptation's path ye gang astray,
Implore His counsel and assisting might:
They never sought in vain that sought the Lord aright.”
~Robert Burns

This afternoon I sat beside a woman who shared something with me that I had not heard in a very long time … it was simple, bare, transparent gratitude. I suppose it was not the gratitude itself that captured my attention; it was the object of her gratitude that held me.

I had heard a little of her story from others; but when she told it to me, it seemed so different. She shared no details, yet it felt like she had handed volumes to me. She told of a season in her life, a recent one, in which she had essentially ignored the mercies of the Lord and treated every person and thing in her life as more important than He. I wish I could put her countenance and her voice into words. I am so, so sorry. It is beyond me.

The gratitude, then? This was not a sappy story of pseudo-repentance. I have never seen someone so thankful for discipline and restoration. She saw her departure for what it was, and she offered no explanation for her present devotion than that of the grace of God. He drew her back in His faithfulness and love. She could hardly speak of anything else.

I was honored to share a meal with her and to hear her story.

The grateful person, being still the most severe exacter of himself, not only confesses, but proclaims, his debts.
~Robert South

~End Quote