My Shepard

Tuesday after my nurses meeting my friend Deb and I went to her house to kill some time until we were due for an appointment later in the afternoon.
When we drove into her yard I asked if we could go down and see her horse Buddy.
As we walked toward the barn Buddy heard us and put his head out of the upper part of the stall door.
Deb went and spoke with him and rubbed his nose to which he affectionately rubbed up against her.When he seemed settled I put my hand out under his mouth and slowly started to pet him.He seemed glad to have me pet him but was a little unsure of me and stayed guarded.
This evening we had our Wed.evening liturgy held at St. Nicholas church just over two streets from our own St. Michael.
At the time when Fr. John was getting ready to start communion I thought to my self how odd it always is to me when ever I hear a different priest.It never really feels like a service unless Fr.Peter is saying it.
I began to think about the good Shepard and how somewhere in the bible it talks about the Good Shepard knowing his sheep and his sheep knowing him.
Then it hit me why it always seems odd when Fr. Peter is not saying the service because I need to hear his voice,its comforting and helps me get into my spiritual mood.
I like buddy can politely listen to someone else but in the end know I need to hear my own Shepard's voice to feel truly at ease.