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Abilene Meadows's avatar

What a lovely connection you've drawn here. I'm on my own faith journey and have been thinking a lot about the active, difficult aspects of what it really means to love, which can have nothing to do with how you actually feel about someone. I hadn't thought about the deeper implications of what it means to be the Good Shepherd, but of course your explanation is perfect: so simple, and yet so deep :)

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Sam Lloyd's avatar

Thank you, I think we can spend our whole lives striving to understand love and at the end still have no idea, but what a life we would have led if we pursue love as our one true calling!

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Obsidian Blackbird.'s avatar

Fantastic stuff :) !

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Sam Lloyd's avatar

Thank you 🙏

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Catherine Nunan's avatar

I grew up singing that song in church. It is one I know off by heart and it must have had an impact on me because I feel that 'love', within my family and my wider community is my calling in life. I have felt this desire to simply love from my primary school days. Thank you for such a thoughtful and thought provoking post Sam, as always. Getting back to our traditions and the human and natural aspects of life is what God made us for - to take care of the earth and to flourish.

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Sam Lloyd's avatar

It's one of the songs I sing or hum to myself when driving, one of those things burned into my brain from so long ago! It is a beautiful and simple song. I'm so glad you enjoyed this week's essay, and thank you again for your kind and encouraging words.

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Catherine Nunan's avatar

Me too. The other one right now is Make Me A Channel of Your Peace. Iris was asking me what a channel was - kids get right to the heart of the matter, don't they!?!

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Sam Lloyd's avatar

That is certainly very true! Children so often see what really matters so much faster than us adults.

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