I was standing in our bedroom, folding clothes as we prepared to leave our third “home” in three months. I crossed to the window to see if I could find out who was wailing outside.

It was a goat. Pegged into the grass on the other side of the road. Alone. It kept jerking and pulling at the rope, desperate to get back with the group that was farther down the road. I…felt tears welling up in my eyes.

I wasn’t crying for the goat, although I did feel bad for it. Those tears were for me. In that moment, I felt very much like that struggling animal, who just wanted to be with its herd.

However, as I was getting ready to wallow, I noticed something. The goatherd had pegged each of the goats at a distance from one another so that they would have the optimal amount of grass to eat. The goat might not understand this, but the goatherd did.

Like that goat, I cling to comfort. I want security. I will always want to be where I feel most at ease. Also like that goat, I don’t truly know the best place for me. But I know the One who does. He will lead me to where I can best feed and grow, and unlike the goatherd, He will never leave me there alone.
—Stacy Creech

Pray for missionaries like Michael and Stacy Creech as they face living outside of their comfort zone while living in Senegal.