Come, Follow Me for Littles · September 28

A kind young shepherd in modest ancient-Israel robes gently carrying a small fluffy white lamb close against his chest, with more sheep grazing on a green hillside and an eagle soaring high in a bright blue sky.

Monday

He Carries the Lambs

Today's idea Jesus is a shepherd who picks up the littlest lamb and carries it.

Isaiah's messages start with two of the kindest words in the scriptures: “Comfort ye.” That means: be comforted. Everything is going to be all right.

Then Isaiah drew a picture with words. He said Jesus is like a shepherd taking care of his sheep.

And here is the part I love best. Isaiah said the shepherd gathers the little lambs — the smallest, wobbliest ones — right up into his arms, and carries them close to his chest.

The lambs do not have to keep up. They do not have to be fast or big or strong. They just get carried.

Isaiah also said that people who wait for Heavenly Father get new strength — that they will “mount up with wings as eagles,” and run and not be weary.

So on the days you feel strong, you can soar like an eagle. And on the days you feel small and tired, you get carried. Either way, He has got you.

A small child in modest ancient-Israel robes holding a grown-up's hand tightly and beaming up at them, walking together across a sunny green meadow full of colourful wildflowers.

Tuesday

I Will Hold Your Hand

Isaiah 41

Today's idea Heavenly Father says, “Do not be afraid — I am holding your hand.”

Think about a time you had to walk somewhere new. Maybe a big room full of people you did not know. What did you want to do with your hand?

You wanted to hold on to somebody. That is exactly what everybody wants.

Isaiah wrote down something Heavenly Father said, and it is one of the warmest promises in the whole Bible. He said: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee.”

Then He said, “I will help thee.” And then, best of all, He said, “I will hold thy right hand.”

Not watch from far away. Not call out instructions from the doorway. Hold your hand. Right there beside you, the whole way.

So the next time something feels big and new, you can reach out, even if you cannot see Him. Somebody is already holding on.

A child in modest ancient-Israel robes kneeling tenderly at a sunny riverbank, cupping a gentle hand around one bent green reed to hold it up, with tall grasses, dragonflies and sparkling water.

Wednesday

The Bent Little Reed

Isaiah 42

Today's idea Jesus is gentle with things that are bent or wobbly — including us.

Down by the river there are tall green reeds. They stand up straight, all in a row. But sometimes one gets bent over — the wind pushed it, or somebody stepped too close.

What would you do with a bent little reed? Some people would just snap it off and throw it away.

Isaiah said Jesus does not do that. He said, “a bruised reed shall he not break.” He said that when a candle is burning so low it is almost out, Jesus does not blow it out. He cups His hand around it.

That is how gentle He is with us.

When you are having a wobbly day — when you got in trouble, or you cried, or nothing came out right — you are the bent little reed. And He is not going to snap you off.

Isaiah said Jesus leads us in paths we have never walked before, and turns dark places bright. He does not leave the bent ones behind. He walks slower.

A kind parent in an everyday striped tunic and cloth head wrap kneeling to speak warmly face to face with a small child in modest ancient-Israel robes, hands resting gently on the child's shoulders, both smiling.

Thursday

I Called You by Your Name

Isaiah 43

Today's idea Heavenly Father knows your name and He says, “You are mine.”

Do you like it when somebody says your name? Not “hey, kid.” Not “you there.” Your real name, the one that belongs only to you.

Isaiah wrote down what Heavenly Father says to each of us. He said: “I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”

He did not say, “I know about you.” He said, “I called you by your name.” He knows how to say it. He has said it before.

Then He made a promise about the hard parts. He said when you go through deep water, He will be with you. When you cross a big river, it will not sweep you away.

Notice He did not say there would never be any water. He said He would be in it with you.

So whenever you feel like just one more kid in a big crowd, remember: Heavenly Father calls you by your name.

Warm rain falling in bright sunshine onto a fresh green garden where willow saplings and leafy plants spring up, with two children in modest ancient-Israel robes laughing with faces turned up and a rainbow overhead.

Friday

Rain on Thirsty Ground

Isaiah 44

Today's idea Heavenly Father pours blessings on us the way rain pours on a garden.

Have you ever watched a garden after it rains? Everything perks up. The leaves go shiny. The whole yard smells green.

Heavenly Father said He would do that for us. He said, “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty.”

Then He said what happens next: people will “spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.” Willow trees grow fast and tall right next to the water. Their branches hang down like long green hair.

That is what happens to us when Heavenly Father pours out His blessings. We grow.

You cannot always feel it happening, the same way a plant cannot feel itself getting taller. But somebody who has not seen you in a while says, “Look how big you got!”

So when something good happens today — a friend, a sunny afternoon, somebody who helped you — that is the rain, falling right on you.

A wide calm blue river winding gently through a lush green valley, with a family in modest ancient-Israel robes sitting peacefully on the grassy bank watching the water flow by under a bright sky.

Saturday

Peace Like a River

Isaiah 48

Today's idea Following Heavenly Father's rules makes you feel calm and strong.

Have you ever sat by a river and just watched it go by? It never stops. It never runs out. It just keeps flowing, quiet and steady, all day long.

Heavenly Father said something lovely about that. He said if we listen to His commandments, our peace will be “as a river.”

A river-kind of peace is not the kind that comes and goes. It is the steady kind that keeps on flowing inside you.

Then He said something else. He said we would be strong “as the waves of the sea.” Have you seen ocean waves come rolling in, one after another after another? They never get tired.

That is what happens inside a person who keeps trying to do what is right. Calm like a river. Strong like the waves.

Heavenly Father called Himself the One “which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” He is not just telling you the way. He is walking it with you.

A close warm view of a grown-up's open cupped hands held out gently with a small child's hands resting trustingly inside them, in a sunny outdoor setting with green grass and colourful wildflowers.

Sunday

Written on His Hands

Isaiah 49

Today's idea Heavenly Father will never, ever forget you.

Do you ever worry about being forgotten? Left at the park. Left off the list. Nobody remembering it is your turn.

Isaiah knew people worry about that, so he wrote down what Heavenly Father says.

First He asked a question: can a mother forget the little baby she is feeding? Can she stop loving the child she carried? Almost never. Mothers remember.

And then Heavenly Father said: even if somebody, somewhere, someday did forget — “yet will I not forget thee.”

Then He said the most beautiful part of all. He said, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” Your name is written right there on His hands, where He sees it every time He reaches out for anything at all.

You are not on a list somewhere. You are on His hands.