One Page at a Time: "Follow the Star"

"I wish myself a shepherd as I lead my little ones along..."

Fast forward to 2006--By this time, I am a mother of three boys and my first book of poems, The Last Time We Were Children , has been accepted for publication. Two of the boys are in school full-time, and the youngest is in preschool three days a week. Energized by the prospect of my poems being published, my poetry writing increases to one to two poems every day. Not only am I writing Mom's Christmas card, but I am writing my own. "Follow the Star" is from one of my cards.

The poem speaks of shepherding children with wisdom and knowledge of God's Word. But, it also reflects on what it means to be a child of God, to be a lamb seeking after God's direction.

As I read this poem, I remember sensing the emerging freedom of having school-aged children mingled with the parental trepidation of raising a vulnerable, special needs child. Christmas 2006 would mark a critical crossroad, and this poem would become prophetic. By August 2007, I would be a published author. I would also be home educating my three sons full-time.