Black Sheep.

I have this painting hanging in my living room that I’ve stared at countless times. It hung in my parents den for years before they gave it to me, so I couldn’t even begin to guess how often my eyes have landed on this scene. 

Their den is a bit darker than my living room with all our windows, and when we got this painting fixed to the wall shortly after moving in, I walked by and glanced at it one day and was taken aback. How had I looked at this painting time and again and never noticed a key element? 

There is one black sheep! 

It is smack dab in the middle of the painting and somehow I missed it. Time and again it escaped my vision. The next time my mom came over I walked her over to the painting and asked her if she’d ever noticed it. She was as surprised as I was - both that there was a black sheep in the painting and that she’d never even seen it before. 

It’s funny because when we feel like the “black sheep” of any setting or situation, we don’t feel seen. Even if we stand out among the crowd, somehow we’ve only blended in - stuck in the middle - completely looked over. Just as I had done with the painting. 

But as I looked deeper into the picture I saw something else I’d never noticed. I was drawn to the shepherds eyes and checked to see where they are permanently fixed. Wouldn’t you know it? They are on the black sheep. 

Oh, FRIENDS! I was hit like a lightning bolt! The Lord, our Shepherd - He never overlooks us. Never forgets us. Never doesn’t see us. When we are feeling especially “black sheepish” is exactly when He wants to draw us in and hold us close. He never takes His eyes off of us. 

We don’t have to wander the pastures aimlessly. We have the a loving, most protective Shepherd who SEES us (El Roi) and He’s guiding every step - keeping us from harmful paths and walking beside us as we journey our way home. 

He loves you. He sees you. 

Psalm 23:1-4