My Shepherd

I love the cute story behind how this painting came to be. One summer evening, we were visiting friends and brought along our bucket ice cream maker as a fun activity for the kids. After dinner, the children took turns cranking the handle. Once they grew tired and the ice cream thickened, we swapped the handle for the electric motor to finish it up. While the motor hummed along, our friend’s little boy became absolutely fascinated by the turning paddles. He sat right beside the bucket, his mouth resting on the rim, with one little finger timidly reaching out to touch the ice packed on top. I quickly snapped a picture of the darling scene to share with my friend.

Fast-forward a few months, and Christmas was on everyone’s mind. While thinking about the shepherds visiting baby Jesus, I wondered if there might have been any young children in that group—perhaps a little boy who had a hard time sleeping at night and begged to go with his father out into the fields. How would such a little one feel and react to seeing a baby whom all the adults called Savior and bowed before?

Suddenly, the pose of my friend’s little boy popped into my head. With his parents’ permission, I took that photo and placed his pose next to that of a family member’s baby picture to complete the scene. I love how he is timidly reaching a finger out to stroke the hair of the baby who would ultimately become his Shepherd, his Redeemer, and his Friend.