Red Riding Hood (Chaperon Rouge) next to the fact that it is quite a "scary" tale, it gave me a chance to learn another lesson from Farida. Watching the story, specifically when little red riding hood arrived at her grandma who just got devoured by the wolf, Farida jumped out of her seat yelling at the little girl "Take care...you do not need to ask about her ears or nose, stop talking with her...just listen to her voice...It is NOT your grandma sleeping there, surely not her sweet voice...It is clearly a villain one, it's the WOLF...Run Now..RUN!" She looked at me with that worried gaze in her eyes and told me "you know pa, when I go to answer the door I ask who is there, if it is you or mami, I recognize right away your voice and open...but if it is another voice...I literally run to whoever is in the house and ask them to come and check. It gets me scared sometimes!"...and THAT was Enough for me to get my lesson of the day!
Reading through John 10 in the famous sermon of Jesus about the Good Shepherd, the following verse kept me hanging there in awe:
When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will never [on any account] follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers or recognize their call. (John 10:4-5 AMP)
ومَتَى أخرَجَ خِرافَهُ الخاصَّةَ يَذهَبُ أمامَها، والخِرافُ تتبَعُهُ، لأنَّها تعرِفُ صوتَهُ. وأمّا الغَريبُ فلا تتبَعُهُ بل تهرُبُ مِنهُ، لأنَّها لا تعرِفُ صوتَ الغُرَباءِ». (10 يوحَنا:4-5 )
I always knew about the sheep who recognize the voice of the care taker, food provider and shelter provider, their shepherd...but caught by surprise seeing that they not only refuse to follow a strange voice, yet Run Away...run back to the one they know PERSONALLY. How many times have we heard and followed strange voices, sometimes we listen and start negotiating, while we know safety lies in fleeing..specially when this strange voice knows your weaknesses. Our Shepherd knows us by Name, and we are invited to sit at His feet and feel His presence, cherish His guidance and receive His abundant blessings for the Shepherd said "My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give my sheep eternal life. They will never die, and no one can take them out of my hand. My Father is the one who gave them to me, and he is greater than all. No one can steal my sheep out of his hand. (John 10:27-29 ERV)" AMEN!
Do not fall in the trap of the wolf, Red Riding Hood listened to the strange voice!
