A Psalm of David.
I
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I lack.
In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths
for the sake of his name.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me.
II
You set a table before me
in front of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me
all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for endless days.
Psalms 23:1-6
This is such a beloved psalm! Would you say it is the most known and maybe most quoted psalm of all? Again, not being a Biblical scholar, it’s not like I have memorized the psalms or learned to know them by their number, but even I know what is coming when someone mentions Psalm 23.
I am especially excited that it came up on this day in my blog because this just happens to be my baby sister’s birthday. So please indulge me as I consider the messages of Psalm 23 in her honor!
Actually, that is quite appropriate since she is someone who has dedicated her life to shepherding those who need her as a police officer. In particular, her work in service to young people is inspirational.
For a few years she was assigned a special beat in the neighborhood around one of the larger urban public schools with the intention that she would provide stability as students arrive and dismiss each day, and be on the lookout for kids skipping out in between. During that time, she and a friend who was their school resource officer also got involved coaching one of the sports teams there.
Right away, her ability to form relationships with these kids became readily apparent. She became known for her ability to diffuse an already emotionally-charged situation without allowing it to escalate into a bigger problem. The students respected her for being firm but fair in her dealings with them.
In one instance, some girls at the school felt comfortable enough with her to share information about some gang activity that was being planned, a retaliation by members of another school. She acted quickly and was able to diffuse that particular incident before it occurred.
She spent a few years on the official School Resource Officer team, and then asked to return to the district where she had worked before. Although she is pulled in a lot of directions with a police force that is probably understaffed for the amount of work they do, she stays involved with the schools. In fact, many school personnel in the area still consider her their go-to resource.
She is also assigned as a liaison to all the private schools on that side of town. In that role, she monitors all activity in the areas around the schools and notifies them to lock-down whenever there is danger near them. Then she hurries to the impacted schools for protection.
She also spends a lot of her time studying the problems of school safety and other issues relevant to young people, like drug abuse and crime. Armed with that knowledge, she does training for school staff and full school training on many of these topics.
One time, when she went into one of the high schools, a few girls ran over to her to share a story. Evidently, they had been at a large public event in a park downtown when someone pulled a gun in the crowd near them. Thankfully, they remembered what she taught them and put it into action.
They said others around them were standing around with their jaws dropped in shock, but they started grabbing people and snapping them back into conscious action. As she taught them, they directed people in the area to follow them behind a nearby shelter building because they remembered her telling them to get a wall between them and the gun as soon as possible.
I know my sister walks “through he valley of the shadow of death” in her job, and I pray that God’s “rod and staff comfort” her. I also believe the Lord is using her as that “rod and staff” for others every day.
Let’s all remember to pray for all the people who are such a blessing in our lives. And let’s continue to thank the Lord for shepherding us. “My cup overflows.”
Good Shepherd, please continue to guide me along right paths. And “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” help me to “fear no evil, for you are with me.”