As the Shepherd Gathers His Lambs

Our prayer and meditation this morning for Sally’s healing is an excerpt from Praying Through Cancer: Set Your Heart Free From Fear by Susan Sorensen and Laura Geist.

He tends his flock like a shepherd:

he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close this heart.

Isaiah 40:11

When my children go through difficult situations, I find myself drawn closer to them. My instinct is to surround them with love and pray more intensely for them. That is exactly what God has done for me and my family during my cancer journey.

Two weeks after my bilateral mastectomy, our family moved from North Carolina to Michigan. I began my aggressive chemo treatments with a whole new set of doctors. Those days and circumstances were from the beginning, more than I could bear. I often felt (and still do) like a little girl cuddled up in my Father’s arms with my head buried in His great chest and my ear pressed hard enough to hear His heart beating. I have experienced His love in ways that I’ve never known before.

I have been blessed by words of Mary Prentiss Smith in her poem “Lean Hard”

Child of My love, lean hard,

And let Me feel the pressure of thy care;

I know the burden, child, I shaped it:

Poised it in My own hand, made no proportion

In its weight to thine unaided strength;

For even as I laid it on, I said

I shall be near, and while he leans on Me,

This burden shall be Mine, not his.

Father, thank You for the privilege of crawling into your arms and laying my head on Your chest. You desire to encircle me with Your love, comfort me, and be my strength. How priceless is Your unfailing love. Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings. Like them, I am able to feast on Your abundance. You bless me from Your river of delights. For with You in the fountain of life, and in Your light I see light.

Lord, I confess that I allow these anxieties to storm over me. I feel myself crawling down from Your lap to chase after these troubles, taking my life into my own hands. Please gather me back into Your arms and help me to allow You to carry me through these difficult times.

You are my Shepherd, I shall not want. You make me lie down in green pastures; You lead me beside quiet waters. How grateful I am that You restore my soul.

Music for Meditation

Grace by Laura Story

If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.