The Good Shepherd

Sweat soaked his skin,
But still he fled through the trees.
Panting, Nathan stopped to catch his breath––
He knew he wouldn’t outrun the guilt within.
Defying the evening’s gentle breeze,
Nathan continued on in grief,
Reliving the night’s events in disbelief:

Shots rang, children screamed,
The congregation divided to be slaughtered.
Nathan, pushed from the pulpit,
Felt someone grip his arm.
“Go,” Alex commanded.
“We still need our shepherd.”
Nathan’s brother pushed him toward
The door. Glancing back, Nathan
Watched in horror as his wife collapsed.
“Go!” Alex shoved him. “Run!”
In anguish, Nathan obeyed.

Escaping into the recesses of a cave,
He collapsed, exhausted, crying out in despair,
“Lord, why did You choose me?
I’m not the shepherd they need.
Nowhere to turn, nowhere to run—
What am I to do? How could I leave them?”
Closing his eyes, he leaned against the rock.
“God is always with us,” echoed in his mind.

As Nathan nodded off to sleep,
His brother’s words resounded:
“Though we don’t understand,
Though we run from His arms
And fall into the Devil’s snares,The Good Shepherd will always seek His flock.”