Close the gate!



Happy eclipse week folks - yeah, that happened again - this time not so much in Oregon.

Speaking of Monday, I was walking to the church building and heard a racket - like metal scraping on the rock. Lo and behold, a landscaper with a truck and trailer was driving by rather quickly with the entire trailer tailgate down - scraping the asphalt.

Think fingernails on a chalkboard folks...yikes.

It reminded me of paying attention to details and not being in such a hurry that important things are missed. I was often the one on our family farm back in the day that forgot to close the barn door or latch the gate. That meant animals got out - almost every time.

This past Sunday's sermon was in the good shepherd passage of John 10 where the good shepherd takes care of the details for the sheep - protection, feeding and care, guarding against danger, and yes, making sure that gate is closed! In that, Jesus, the good shepherd, is our doorway to all the good, abundant life we're made for.

Our challenge is to remain available to what Jesus wants to do in our lives and to allow our relationships with one another to give life as well. It's that well-known idea of loving God and loving people.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
-Matthew 22:37-39

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