The Shepherd Chapter 6

Chapter 6

          As time went on, the good Lord prospered me. I watched Mr. Isaac and saw in him a man that I wanted to become. So, I did. Mr. Isaac was honest in his dealings with his customers and fair with his employees. I realized that both went hand in hand. If you don’t have the trust of your customers, your business will soon dry up. Customers vote with their feet. And if you can’t keep good workers, you can’t maintain an organization that can deliver the promised goods to your customers. Mr. Isaac seemed to keep that balance.

          Mr. Isaac saw I was eager to please him and he gave me more and more responsibilities. Once I noticed him smiling as I was dealing with cranky Old Benjamin. He liked the way that I was firm yet compassionate with the old man. One day I realized how important that compassion was. That was the day that Old Benjamin did not wake up.

          It was a cold December morning and I had just begun to stir in the pre-dawn darkness. I was stretching and yawning trying to get moving. Mr. Isaac was squatting near the campfire adding sticks to the left-over embers. Baruk was the next to wake up. Baruk was a talker and woke up that way. His morning chatter would wake the others up. Nathan began to move under his blanket and only Old Benjamin was still asleep. But after a few minutes, he still hadn’t moved. Hameed reached over to shake his shoulder, but drew his hand back quickly. Old Benjamin was cold as ice. He had died sometime in the night. Hameed began to shriek clapping his hands against his head.

          Mr. Isaac was the voice of reason. He said, “Old Benjamin has been a hard worker and a faithful companion for many years. He had gone to his eternal rest. I pray that when I pass into the next life, it will be just as Old Benjamin has: Go to sleep at night and quietly wake up in heaven. We nodded our assent. All except Hameed. He would not be consoled and went on and on saying, “I can’t believe Old Benjamin is gone! He was just here last night and now he is gone! Gone!”

          I was glad that the last week had been a good time for Old Benjamin and me. He had been cross with Hameed and I had mediated. later, I had privately thanked Old Benjamin for his graciousness in forgiving Hameed. He hadn’t been all that gracious, but I thanked him anyway. He had given me a half smile knowing that he really hadn’t been that kind and forgiving. We were close that week, me and Old Benjamin. And for that, I was grateful.

          But Hameed … He was remorseful and couldn’t be consoled. It was too late to ask old Benjamin’s forgiveness, and Hameed knew it. I think that’s why he was so broken. It wasn’t Old Benjamin’s death; it was the forgiveness that could never come. As I watched Hameed, I learned a valuable lesson that day. Before I lay my head down at night, I make sure that all ill-feelings with anyone are settled. There may not be a tomorrow.