11/01/2026
Two Shepherds, One God.
In Ireland there lived a shepherd who prayed in the morning, and the evening,
and in North Africa there lived a shepherd who prayed at Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), and Isha (night).
Their timetables were different,
but their longing to remain close to their maker and a redeemer was the same.
One day, the Irish Shepherd in her own prayer asked,
“Tell me, which shepherd is closer to God.”
The wind moved through the heavens and down across the earth, carrying with it a quiet voice:
“All who care for the flock entrusted to them,
and who honour their neighbour,
are close to God and walking within His desire.”
The traveller pondered these words. She knew the shepherds flock in Africa was wounded by hate and he was grieving the unnecessary loss of life, she felt the grieving in her own heart, as she had stood as the shepherd in Ireland searching in vain for safety so her flock would not face the same loss, and their worlds had combined.
She knew both had rose in the night when a storm rolled in,
to honour the birth of new life trembling in their hands.
And she came to understand
that heaven listens not to the shape of the language of the prayer, but to the shape of the heart that speaks it.
She could learn to understand truth that devotion is not measured by the hour of prayer,
nor by the language of the worship,
but by the shared devotion that moves a person to tend what has been gifted to them by the same God.
