Little faith will bring your souls to Heaven, but great faith will bring Heaven to your souls. – Charles Spurgeon

The official Mother’s Day celebration was a number of weeks ago.  Acknowledging that, if you don’t mind, I’d like to celebrate something more about my wonderful mother with you this week as well.

Herein is a photo of her grave site. When I visit here, I tend to planting flowers in her little garden, sprucing it up, or taking time to reflect back on how blessed I was to have “sweet Alice” as my mom.  Far more importantly is the comfort and joy I get in reading the opening scriptural segment from Psalm 23 she chose that says, The Lord is My Shepherd.  That means so much to me because when I meditate on each of those five words I trust that my mother is still being tended to in the most loving way.  Here is what I mean…

The is a qualifier or definitive.  It doesn’t say a lord, some lord, or any lord—it says The Lord –That means there is a specific noun involved or a one and only.

Lord isn’t just another term of nobility. Lord means master or a person possessing supreme power and authority.

Is locates us in the present.  Not was, might be, will be, could or should be, but IS — right here and right now!

My — not yours, his or hers, but belonging to me — mine!

Shepherd – A man employed in tending, feeding, and guarding sheep in the pasture or the pastor of a parish, church or congregation; a minister of the gospel who superintends a church or parish and gives instruction in spiritual things.  God and Christ are in scripture named shepherds as they lead, protect and govern their people, and provide for their welfare.

 The Lord is My Shepherd may be just five words, but they combine to share a confidence in the blessing of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ—the one and only eternal shepherd worthy to lead us all, both now and forever more.  From the Garden of Eden, to my mother’s little garden, may we all be firmly planted in the garden of the love of our eternal redeemer!

We pray fervently that The Lord be Shepherd over all our family and friends; not only as an effective reminder engraved in my Mom’s stone, but especially in a loving relationship etched and alive in our hearts as well.

Psalm 23; John 10; Romans 10:9-10