...what is that to you?                                      Follow me!                                                              -- John 21:22 When you first sent me out to tend the sheep, I thought you merely meant me to keep them from the elements---the fire and rain. I couldn't see why you told me: I'd be treading hallowed ground.  But as I gained a foothold in the land, I found where you were heading.  You hired me, not just to pastor someone else, but planned, no doubt, to form for me yourself a shelter from the storm.  Without this work, I'd have always felt like winning still more territory to control. But now I'd find such power irksome.  I've enough to do to turn one soul from sinning. Numbed by ceaseless caring, I've lost all sense of time and space.  But still I roam, filled with unexpected peace. For in this hour of grace, I'm coming home.                                                                    -- Mahlon H. Smith