Setting out for Belfast I had ‘randomly’ picked a book from my shelf to read on the flight over.
It was “A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23”, by Philip Keller, a book I had read many years ago. Opening it on the plane to begin the read I realized it was my mum’s copy. By the time we neared Belfast I turned another page near the end of the book and discovered this scrap of paper……
When I told the story to my grandsons they exclaimed, “It was a time capsule!”
The note has been written decades ago, the book been carried from Ireland to the US where it sat untouched on a shelf for many years. Then I ‘just happened’ to pick it up on this trip, to discover this message of grace (That is the meaning of Anna)…..that the Lord was the shepherd of her three ‘boys’ my John, my Paul and my Christopher. This was the significance of the three underscores !
The day John had called to tell me Chris had rapidly deteriorated, just as I hung up, a remarkable thing had happened. There came a knock on the door, and when I opened it, there stood two police officers!
“Did you call 911?” They asked.
“No” I answered.
“Huh!” The officer continued. “ We got a 911 call to come to this address. Must have been some kids playing a prank! Thank you sir.” And the two cops left.
“Now what was the meaning of that Father?” I asked.
I realized 911 (the US equivalent of the British 999)was a call for help. But it is also the gematria for ‘charis’ the Greek word for grace!
I knew the timing was perfect, for Chris was now walking through ‘the valley of the shadow of death’. The message from mum and from heaven was clear, he need “fear no evil”, for the gracious shepherd was with him.
On our way to Ireland our flight was delayed. We missed our connection, we missed our bus, we missed our rental car. On our way home the rental car was returned early, the bus arrived early, the flight left early, the connecting flight was early, and we arrived home early!
The contrast was so stark I knew it was meant to confirm the message that appeared on the bottle of Australian wine our friend Norah had bought for communion in Belfast.
From a human point of view we make judgements about ‘what is late’ and what is ‘early’, but as Psalm 139 says, every one of our days is written in the Shepherd’s book. Everything in our lives will happen precisely when it is meant to from the moment of our birth to the moment of our death. It is all perfectly according to, “The Shepherd’s Clock.”
The symbol on the wine bottle is of a Laughing Kookaburra bird. ‘The Shepherd’s Clock’ is a synonym for a ‘laughing kookaburra.’The Aboriginal story goes….
“As the sun rose for the very first time, Baiame (creator god and Sky Father) wanted all to witness. He elected just the bird for the job.
After a raucous “GUU-GUU-BERR-AA-AA!!!”, everyone was awake.
When the people rose, sunlight met Earth. A display of warm hues blanketed the lands — for all to see, thanks to the laughing kookaburra. “
Chris rallied in March, and encouraged us to return to the U..S. for a planned visit to Florida. It wasn’t his time……quite yet.
Here in St. Augustine, Florida, we heard the news of his going home to be with the Lord. That day we visited a local coffee shop. We then realized the significance of it’s name……
Neither was the significance of the number of the coffee shop lost on me, for as Psalm 133 says, “Where brothers dwell together in unity, there God commands the blessing- even life!”
Chris had said after our deeply meaningful time in Belfast, “We three are together again now, the way we were always meant to be.”
Today we return to Belfast for a third time this year, to give thanks for a life well lived, where “goodness and mercy” have followed, both as the overshadowing of the gentle and gracious shepherd and the legacy of this one sheep of his.