Who Is The Black Sheep?

Below are my two boys on recent soccer trips overseas from which they both came back winners for club and country. Sean on the left, scoring for the New Zealand Cross Whites against New South Wales in Australia, and Joshua on the right running with the ball for WYNRS against Chigasaki in Japan.

I chose these photos from amongst many because they demonstrate very well their different strengths as players. Sean is extremely accurate with his passing and shooting - he was the penalty and corner taker for the Cross Whites. Joshua is very fast and skillful on the ball - see the Japanese players in hot pursuit!

In fact they are very different in virtually every way. For example, when it comes to food, you can be sure that if one doesn't like something, the other does. I don't know if that will change when they get older but I suspect it won't and I'll tell you why.

When Joshua was born in 2001, I had a dream I was walking through a house. One side of the house was filled with light and the other was dark and shaded. When I woke up, I remember a first word which said that the two parts of the house represented Sean and Joshua. It didn't say who was dark and who was light I should add : ) That made me worry as dark is often associated with trouble! But a second word came saying not to worry, that they were both parts of the same house! I took the overall meaning to be one of reassurance concerning them. When I see them so different in many ways I do not worry about it at all.

We call the family member who is different to the rest the Black Sheep. They stand out from the rest but quite often they are the one in trouble. Is there a Black Sheep in your family? Perhaps you are the one! It is certainly genetically true the Black Sheep is part of the same house even though they don't look like it is so. But maybe like me you never realised that all your family members belong and are part of a bigger house that God is building. To the Black Sheep, remember your home, to the rest, vive la différence!