Caring for Creation

I grew up about 15 minutes away from Shepherds, but never set foot on campus until I interviewed here in May of 2007. Following my interview, the HR Director gave me a tour. I was amazed by the size of the campus, the number of buildings and, most of all, the beauty of each cottage, home, walkway and garden. After working in a basement office with no windows for over six years, the thought of spending my days in surroundings so glorious with light, color and scent just about brought me to my knees in gratitude.

Do you know the saying that goes, “You can tell the measure of a man by the shine of his shoes?”

I don’t whole-heartedly buy into this statement – I’ve known some honorable and respectable men in dusty construction boots or worn sneakers – but if the saying went, “You can tell how much Shepherds cares for their clients by how much care they put into their grounds,” well, I’d say the saying was a bull’s-eye.

The environment of Shepherds truly reflects the heart of Shepherds.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Owen Lackey, the man responsible - along with his team, Gerald, Jessica and Seth - for maintaining our beautiful facilities. Here is Owen’s story of his call to Shepherds Ministries:

Walking in the woods has always been a magnet to my imagination. As a youngster, the proximity of a woodlot and a clear path into it would always raise my curiosity to an uncontrollable urge to see what was at the other end of the path. Whether it is a gap in the trees, a break in the rocks, or a path in the tall grass, God has always been able to take me to see the next wonder simply by showing me the opening.  

As a young man I was beset by many of the typical problems and issues that faced the youth of the 60s and 70s. As a family, we were unprepared to face these trials. Losses and struggles, and the resulting changes in our lives took their toll on all four of us kids. As the oldest sibling, I was expected to shoulder my load in the care of the others. However, I was not able to face that responsibility without a continuous searching for some sense of stability. When stability never came, I set out searching for it.

The opportunity to flee into this search first expressed itself in the chance to go to college. My interests in the outdoors and years of enjoyment on my Uncle’s farm attracted me to the Agriculture school at Purdue University. I soon selected a course of study that would feed my interests and my needs through the access to peaceful tranquility in the gardens and arboreta of the world. While college life is anything but stable, it presented itself as orderly and structured to my aimless life. The choice of Horticulture as a career was an inviting, soothing path to explore without concern or burden.

This path led me to the opportunity for God to make Himself real to me. My freshman summer on my Uncle’s farm brought hard work and new work experiences, but it also brought my introduction to Jesus Christ. My salvation wasn’t a spectacular event, but a simple recognition of my need, my Savior’s capacity to meet that need, and His overwhelming ability to love me with absolute conviction and eternal sincerity.

                I completed my course of studies at Purdue, with some anxiousness to pursue what God wanted for me. I couldn’t see how Horticulture could be of any use to God. In an effort to place myself as a useful tool in God’s hands, I went to Bible College, enrolling in Faith Baptist Bible College after graduating from Purdue. I felt I was being dragged from the woods and into the realm of suits and ties, but that was where God wanted me.

                The next five years brought many uplifting events and disappointments, but even the hard things were confirming. Hard work to pay for school, long hours in study and physical labor, sitting out semesters to raise money; these were countered by the joy of meeting my wife Tracy and entering married life with her, the peace of being in the center of God’s will for me, and the starting of my own family. Graduation for Tracy and I came in the same year, 1981, just six months after our marriage.

                We settled into a period of our lives where God strengthened our bond, our abilities and trained our eyes to see how He wanted us to live our lives. We were active in a small church, paying off our school bills and looking for His will. “Wait thou only upon God,” became an important scriptural guide for us.

In the summer of 1985, a friend contacted us about an opportunity. He was the college placement officer at Faith Baptist Bible College, and his wife was the babysitter for our infant and 3-year-old baby girls. He wanted to know if I was interested in a job opportunity at Shepherds Home and School. They needed a groundskeeper and greenhouse instructor. He knew I had Horticulture training and the obvious Bible College requirements, but he wondered if I had any experience with people with intellectual disabilities. I answered him, “Is 26 years enough?”

                As an oldest sibling I was blessed by the entry to my family of a baby sister when I was just three. MariAnne became a delight to us two boys as she was always beaming with a big smile and a real desire to keep up with us in whatever endeavor small boys might pursue. It wasn’t until we realized she could not talk with us as a three-year-old that we saw that she was “different.” We soon became harshly aware of her differing abilities as we became her translators, her defenders and the only kids on the block willing to play with her. When Mom died, MariAnne was a very dependent 12-year-old girl in remedial classes, living in a world at the time that wanted to isolate and hide her.

                Growing up with MariAnne had indeed given me experience with an individual with a different mental ability. My first contact with Shepherds brought an invitation to come to Union Grove, Wisconsin to see what God would have us do regarding an involvement with this ministry. 

The rest of the details in our coming are important, but they pale in comparison to the strength of God’s calling to come to His work.  God prepared me with abilities in horticulture, teaching and an understanding of the hardships facing an adult with disabilities. His call provided me with the ability to apply those preparations as a tool in His hands, to meet people’s needs.

God prepares a path for me, though the route before seems gray.

-          He clears the snags and brush aside to show an open way. 

The path may narrow and way grow dim as trials hide the trail.

-          But God will lead his scout along a tread that will not fail.

As thorns and stings and sharpened stones can make the pathway pain,

-          God fills my pack with sustaining grace to stay the path toward gain.

We walk our paths as God directs to the places that He wills.

-       With patient love He blazes the way to eternal joy fulfilled.

-ONL

Thank you, Owen, for bringing beauty to our days through your exceptional work.