Reflections on Sheep
Written By Wendolyn Craun
This summer I had the opportunity to observe a lot of sheep. When I think of sheep, I think of Psalm 23. I think of me as “a sheep” and my heavenly Father as “the Shepherd”. My most recent observation about sheep is that they hardly ever stand alone. They always seem to come in groups. I’m not sure that I realized this in the past. As a child, I memorized Psalm 23. “The Lord is MY Shepherd.” Thinking about that psalm I never imagined anything but one sheep and one shepherd. But in my experience of observing sheep, it occurred to me that shepherds take care of groups of sheep, not just one. They walk in the fields and they see sheep plural, not just sheep singular.
If you have walked anywhere in the Himalayan regions, you have seen sheep. In Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and India there are a lot of sheep. Many lands outside the Himalayan region also have sheep. I recall traveling in Australia and being surprised to see so many sheep. I think this is because the landscape of Australia reminded me much of the USA, but in the USA one normally sees cows roaming the fields, whereas rolling hills in Australia seemed to be the home of many sheep. Visiting England in years past, I also recall seeing lands full of sheep. Perhaps you too live in a land where sheep are easily observed. I am guessing if you do live where you can see fields and sheep, you are likely used to seeing sheep plural, not just sheep singular.
Living in Asia, individuals focus upon community. This means that individuals start considering daily decisions by first considering sheep plural (how does this decision affect the group?). This is something I really enjoy about Asian culture and a perspective on life that I want to be intentional to grow. When I see the world around me, do I see sheep plural or sheep singular? As I walk through life do I see the community or the individual? When I do tasks, do I see the big picture or all the details? When I am learning something new, if I am “the shepherd” responsible for “the sheep,” what do I see?
In thinking about creating songs for learning English, we have decided to present you with individual songs in groups related to one learning topic. Language is made of up of a multitude of details that can be grouped together in ways such that the mind can organize and retain information. Perhaps this is like sheep plural and sheep singular. Each song shared, like an individual sheep, is unique and special. That said, our songs come in groups, like sheep gathered on a hillside for the learner (the shepherd) to enjoy. Hope you (the shepherd) can enjoy each group of songs (our sheep presented to you).