No distance management here

After Ezekiel 34:11-24

A choice: direct the search

for scattered sheep, assemble 

the team and give each member

an assignment, a territory, directions,

a deadline,

or

go out with the search,

find the places of scattering,

secure the valleys and hillsides,

and look with self for lost sheep.

That was the choice:

two possibilities becoming

two paths becoming

two doors.

He chose Door #2.

Photograph by Swaminathan Jayaraman via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Return of the sheep

After Ezekiel 34:11-24

It’s not only the simple matter

of the sheep coming home

from places scattered;

it is more. It begins 

with the noticing of absence,

which assumes the understanding

of presence; then comes

the seeking out, the search. 

The shepherd goes forward,

looking. And more: the search

isn’t only the simple matter

of looking, but extends to rescue

from wherever the sheep

have been scattered on that day

of clouds and darkness. And

then the sheep are led home.

Photograph by Adrian Infernus via Unsplash. Used with permission.