A love letter for you
For the past year, I’ve been writing monthly letters of encouragement that I affectionately call LYLO letters (Love Yourself, Love Others) to people all over the country. Letters filled with reminders that God is real; we can trust Him; and He has a good plan for our lives. I’ve been blown away by the responses I’ve gotten back and thought I’d share one of those letters with you because we’re all in need of encouragement. We all need to be reminded that not only is life worth living with Jesus, but that it’s the far better option.
Below is a letter I wrote that I pray you read through and realize this is the heart of God for you. As we enter into this new year and new season, may we rely on our Good Shepherd even more to carry us through whatever valley and mountain peak we find ourselves in.
Hello friend!
The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd has been EVERYWHERE since I last wrote. Literally popping up in the Mass readings, in conversations with friends, in retreats I’ve been leading, in future things I’m planning for — the theme that Jesus is a Good Shepherd, and we are His sheep has been haunting me.
I heard this amazing talk by my friend, Mariana, talking about her experience in Ireland and experiencing firsthand a sheepfold and what a good shepherd does. The Irish tour guide told their group:
“Sheep aren’t stupid, they’re restless.
They’re not mindless, they’re relational.
They’re not clueless, they’re dependent.
They’re not hopeless, they’re just desperate for guidance.
The sheep’s ‘stupidity’ is actually their dependency — it’s their condition.
They need guidance that supersedes their being.
They need a creature outside of their own intelligence to guide them.”
And if that isn’t us. As sheep in this flock, we’re not stupid or blindly following an idea or myth or a feeling. We’re anxious to be led by a Being that is bigger than us — Christ. Jesus. God, the King of the Universe.
You’re not stupid, you’re anxious. You’re not clueless, you’re deeply relational. You’re not hopeless, you’re desperate for guidance. And I would say you’re desperately in search of the rest and peace that only the Good Shepherd can give you. This kind of lasting peace cannot come from things of this world but only from the One who created it — God.
If you’re uncertain whether or not God loves you or even likes you, look to the Scriptures:
“You formed me in my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb…” Psalm 139.
“For God so loved the world [you], that He sent His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
“For the sake of the joy [you] set before Him He endured the Cross, despising its shame…” Hebrews 12:2.
“Like a shepherd He feeds His flock; in His arms He gathers the lambs, carrying them in His bosom, leading the ewes with care.” Isaiah 40:11.
The previous verse, Isaiah 40:10, states, “Here comes with power the Lord God, who rules by His strong arm; Here is His reward with Him, His recompense before Him.”
What is His reward? Who does it say He’s holding in the next verse? You. You are His reward. You are His joy that was set before Him so much that He endured the pain of the cross.
This is why He came as a baby in a manger. He came for you. You can trust the Good Shepherd with your life because since the beginning of time, He’s been calling you to Himself. And like a Good Shepherd, He doesn’t intend to leave His flock.