Most everyone knows the parableof the shepherd and the lost sheep. To paraphrase Matthew 18:12, a shepherd had 100 sheep. One evening he realized that one of his sheep had wandered away from the fold. The shepherd was so concerned about that one; he left the niney-nine to go find the one that had wandered off. Often sheep are raised in areas in which the terrain is very rugged. Shepherds use a shepherd's crook to help rescue sheep that have fallen into ravines and crevices. It is designed to be able to pull them to safely.  In this parable the darkness of the night and ruggedness of the terrain was not enough to prevent the shepherd from searching for his lost sheep. He didn't sit back on his laurels and say, "Too bad about that one; I still have ninety-nine left." No, he left the safety of his camp and ventured into the night to find that one sheep. He did not rest until he found him: and when he found him, he was delighted! Isn't this how our heavenly Father feels about his flock? When one of us wanders away HE is saddened and concerned. HE does not rest until we are found. HE wants us, all of us, to come into the fold, to be embraced by HIS love. And when we return HE is delighted! As you sit comfortably in the safey of the fold, do you ever reflect back and think WOW, once I was one of the lost sheep, but now I'm found? Do you ever wonder: How many lost sheep there are? What they look like? Where they may be hiding? Do you ever wonder: Where did I put my Shepherd's crook?