Have you ever drifted away from God and thought you weren’t important to Him anymore?

Jesus told the following story: «If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost? And when he finds it, he will joyfully carry it on his shoulders and bring it home.»

Drifting away from God is never an instant event; it is rather a slow and silent process, gradually unfolding in the hidden and intimate realms of a person. We first drift away with our minds, then with our emotions, and finally, we distance ourselves like the distracted sheep does from its flock.

Sometimes disillusionment pulls us away, sometimes resentment contaminates us, sometimes the muddy pit traps us, and then, our minds start playing tricks on us: «Surely, no one noticed I got lost; surely, I’m not important to the Good Shepherd.»

Suddenly, wrapped in these thoughts, we feel a firm hand on our shoulders. Terrified with guilt, we only expect something bad to happen to us.

To our surprise, a gentle voice says, «I found you.» It’s the Good Shepherd who embraces us with excitement and carries us back home. Today there will be a celebration in the heavens!