Moments with the Latch Key Kid

Lugging my beloved six-string on my back, I hike.  It doesn’t take long to find him.  The sound of the bleating sheep keys me into his location.  He sits on a large rock, unassuming, the simplest of all shepherds, strumming away.  I had already taken a seat on the rock beside him and set my guitar down before he even noticed me.  He opened his eyes mid-melody, startled. 

“Been there long?” he smiled.

“Not too long.  Lose track of time, I imagine, sitting out here worshipping with your sheep. Bet it makes the day go faster, doesn’t it?”

“You’d think it would.” He placed his instrument down beside the rock and brushed his hands on his knees before extended one towards me, “But I find time disappears all together when I worship, as if it never existed in the first place.”

“It’s nice to meet you, David,” I offered timidly, shaking his hand.  He looked so young sitting on that rock.  Who knows how long it would be before he would slay Goliath, take the throne, and make his place in history.  For now, he was just the shepherd boy who sang over his sheep everyday. 

“Do you sing for the sheep?” I ask, wondering the motivations of his heart.  Here is the up and coming King who would write psalms and release worshippers in dance and song before the Lord.

He smiles again, “No, it’s not a shepherding trick.  I’m not singing for them.  Only for Him.”

“Does it make you feel strong?” I ask, thinking of the great tasks before him.

“It makes me feel alive.  I feel true to myself, when I turn my face towards Him.”

“What is the key? The key to worship, David?”

“Don’t sing for the sheep, and know that no one else can bring your worship for you.  Enjoy Him.  Know Him.  And let every place you go be a meeting place with God.” He nodded his head matter-of-factly, motioned me to my guitar and picked up his instrument.  “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God.”

Selah.