LOST This episode is about some experiences I have had being lost and how the Good Shepherd always leads us back home.

Transcript of Episode 6

My earliest memory of being lost was inside a supermarket. I was about 5 years old and I was with my mum, and then all of a sudden I was alone. Maybe I wondered off, or my mum may have moved to another aisle thinking I was just behind her. I remember the feeling of dread, of sheer terror, not knowing if and when I would be reunited with my mum. With tears in my eyes and thumping of my heart I tried to figure out what to do. I stayed where I was, frozen in time, until my small body forced one step in front of the other, to the next aisle. I still did not see her. And then she found me. I couldn’t have been lost for more than 5 minutes, perhaps? But it felt like an eternity.

I have a lousy sense of direction so there have been many times that I have got lost while driving, on foot and even when I am underwater. Before Google maps or Waze apps on mobile phones was a thing, I had to rely on my poor memory, or asking for directions. There have been many a time when I have stopped to ask for directions, often more than once in a single car journey! My on-foot jaunts have led me to some interesting places, I used to use the A - Z of London, when I was living there, a soft-back book street atlas, containing all the London roads and streets. Sometimes it was helpful, but other times I found it easier to ask a human! I was good at finding my way around the London underground railway system, or the tube as it was called. I could easily get from A to B, changing trains and even helping other people who were lost. That felt good! As far as getting lost underwater goes, when I scuba dive I usually have my son with me, and he keeps a good eye out. I can get lost in the wonder of the deep and if I am not careful I can drift off away from the group.

In one of my walks with the dogs I spotted something white moving among the bushes. I stopped to see what it was and the dogs seemed interested too. It was an egret that had strayed away from its flock. His long neck looked bald on that wet morning, and it seemed to be having difficulty pushing its wings forward to fly. I called the dogs back to leave it alone and I said a silent prayer, remembering that God knows even when a sparrow falls. He knows everything about us, even the number of hairs on our heads. Do you know that parable in the Bible about being lost? It’s the one about the lost sheep in a flock of 100. The Shepherd leaves the 99 and goes to look for the lost sheep until he finds it, joyfully putting it on his shoulders, going home rejoicing. This parable shows the deep love and tender mercy for the lost sheep. It’s about our Father God, who is our Shepherd, and how he looks out for us, His sheep, takes care of us and brings us back when we go off track. The rejoicing that takes place in heaven when one person finds new life with The Father, their own special relationship with Jesus

I’m going to read Psalm 23, one of my favourites, from The Voice translation of the Bible as I close:

The Eternal is my shepherd, He cares for me always.

He provides me rest in rich, green fields beside streams of refreshing water, He soothes my fears;

He makes me whole again, steering me off worn, hard paths

To roads where truth and righteousness echo His name.

Even in the unending shadows of death’s darkness, I am not overcome by fear.

Because You are with me in those dark moments Near with Your protection and guidance, I am comforted.

You spread out a table before me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies;

You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil, Filling my cup again and again with your grace.

Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me where I go, always, everywhere.

I will always be with the Eternal, in Your house forever