Not What You Were Expecting?

Quite some time ago, my mother worked at a radio station. She was a secretary and sometimes she recorded adds for the radio’s sponsors. Anyway, on this particular day, she answered the phone and took down a request for a lamb give-away. Now the kids from this particular family had gotten too attached to the lamb for it to be butchered, so they were willing to give it away to anyone that could pick it up. Needless to say, that add never made it on the radio. My mom left work, picked us up from school, and away we went to pick up our lamb. Picture this. A four-door, orange Honda, from about 1973, filled with my two sisters and I, and of course Mom. I don’t remember how long it took us to arrive at the farm but I do remember that it was on top of a huge hillside. So we arrive at the farm and this guy comes out to greet us. He starts to call out for Sam the Lamb and much to our surprise, a lamb was not coming out to greet us. It was indeed a RAM. You know, it’s like a lamb on steroids with horns that wrap around his ears. He was HUGE! How on Earth were we all going to fit in our little car? Well, as I recall, I sat in the back with one of my sisters and Sam sat in the back with us. However, since he was so large, he couldn’t sit! His big, rear end hung out on my side window and his head was sticking out the other window. At first it was scary, then it was fun, but soon, it was awful. I think it’s because Sam the Ram pooped on my birthday card. It was such a cute card!! Finally we got him home. Hmm, another problem. We lived in a single wide trailer with a small yard. You have to understand, we thought that we were getting a lamb so we had a simple 25 foot doggie chain to chain him up with. We weren’t planning on a ram! Once we had him chained up, he was able to run in circles around our humble home. Have you ever thought that you were going to get one thing and ended up getting something totally different? King David, Jesse, and the nation of Israel sure knows how you feel. Let’s look at First Samuel 17:1-50. When David was a boy, he was a simple sheep herder and the youngest of eight. Now Dave’s dad, Jesse, sent him on a simple errand; to go to where his older brothers were and get a report on how they were getting along, and then get back home. Sounds simple enough right? Nope. Here’s a little history. The Philistines and the Israelites were about to engage in battle so when Jesse asked David to find his brothers and see how they were doing, that meant to go to the front lines of battle. In David’s mind he was simply a sheep herder and cub reporter; not a soldier about to report for duty. So girls tell me this. When your man starts hanging around other men, what happens? You know they start braggin’ ‘bout how awesome they are and soon enough they’re in a full blown testosterone fest. It becomes the Superbowl For Men. Uhhu. David entered the testosterone zone and soon enough he found himself with a few rocks, a sling, no armor, and two chest hairs. But, he knew that God was with him. It didn’t matter that Goliath was over nine feet tall and covered from head to toe with armor. God had already granted David and the Israelites the victory. David indeed killed the Philistine, Goliath, by slinging a rock from his shepherd’s bag right between his eyes. In my mind, that rock symbolized the shear shock that this farm boy from Podunk Ville just hacked off the head of a giant. Here’s my question for you: what’s in your shepherd’s bag? Are there stones that have had your victories written on them? Are there disappointments, hopes, regrets, or dreams? See girls, God knows what’s written on the stones of your life. He even knows what your stones of self-image say. The way that you see the milestones of your life is not the way that God sees you. Your King sees you in a way that not even you can expect for yourself. You are a fantastic and gorgeous woman. You are in the royal family that has conquered death! Trust me, David left as an errand boy and returned a King. God has unexpected and exciting plans for your life. Live blessed today! For you are the beautiful stone in the Good Shepherd’s bag. Here are your verses for meditation: I Sam. 17:48 & 49: “As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.” Love, Dede