The compliment nearly knocked her...
Illustration
The compliment nearly knocked her over. It came in a neatly addressed envelope which she had opened quickly. Inside she found the simple message: "Dear Shirley -- You truly are a servant of the Lord -- With my love, Carol."
The phrase "a servant of the Lord" spun again and again through her mind until at last, in the silence of her apartment, Shirley laughed and said out loud, "All I did was listen to Carol and tell her I'd pray for her!" Then, both bewildered and grateful, she offered a prayer of thanksgiving for her friend.
Shirley would hardly have dwelt on it, but what she had done for Carol, she had done for others in an almost countless variety of situations. She had listened, encouraged, and visited. She had brought food, invited, and introduced. She had spoken straight words when they needed to be spoken. She had embraced. She had wept. She had, more than she ever realized, guided. Through many years she had done these things while working quietly in the store, attending church, and just going about her neighborhood.
Shirley was, in the truest sense of the biblical word, a shepherd. In the name and spirit of the Lord, she cared for those whose lives intersected with her own. And in turn, those who looked on her grew to know that she followed the Chief Shepherd, the Christ, the King.
The phrase "a servant of the Lord" spun again and again through her mind until at last, in the silence of her apartment, Shirley laughed and said out loud, "All I did was listen to Carol and tell her I'd pray for her!" Then, both bewildered and grateful, she offered a prayer of thanksgiving for her friend.
Shirley would hardly have dwelt on it, but what she had done for Carol, she had done for others in an almost countless variety of situations. She had listened, encouraged, and visited. She had brought food, invited, and introduced. She had spoken straight words when they needed to be spoken. She had embraced. She had wept. She had, more than she ever realized, guided. Through many years she had done these things while working quietly in the store, attending church, and just going about her neighborhood.
Shirley was, in the truest sense of the biblical word, a shepherd. In the name and spirit of the Lord, she cared for those whose lives intersected with her own. And in turn, those who looked on her grew to know that she followed the Chief Shepherd, the Christ, the King.
