SHEPHERDING HEARTS
Sally Clarkson
A flurry of fifteen candle flames danced in the darkness as the six of us gathered around the bounty of our customary Shepherd’s Meal on Christmas Eve. All lights had been extinguished. Picturing the shepherds tending their flocks in the hilly fields on the night of Jesus’s birth was foremost in our time together.
Simple folk, doing their job of tending sheep under an inky sky dotted with a myriad of twinkling stars. Humble, even common, these workers were! They were startled out of their sleepy obligations by a grand and mysterious angel suddenly appearing from nowhere, announcing the miraculous birth of a baby who would be a savior to all people. Upon this surprising declaration, a
