Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 23 is probably one of the most familiar passages of the Bible. Yet, like all of Scripture, new meaning can come even after hundreds of readings. Recently, the words, "thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" struck me in a way I hadn't thought of before.

I was wearing the necklace pictured above, which my dad bought for me when he served in VietNam. As I sat in church I was thinking about it because someone had just told me, "Nice necklace." I liked that after all these years it was still attractive.

Those words, "thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" came to mind. I realized for the sheep, just seeing their shepherd's rod and staff must have reminded them of their shepherd, and it comforted them -- it made them remember his great love for them.

That necklace, and a favorite shirt of my dad's that I now own, do the same for me. They remind me of my dad, and they comfort me.