shepherds of the broken - keeper of the secrets

I keep hearing this phrase inside of my head, sometimes even while I'm asleep "shepherd of the broken". And I know what it means, at least what it means to me. It more disturbs me that I'm hearing it even while I'm unconscious than anything else.

The shepherds of the broken are the people who take care of others. Who fight for those who can't fight for themselves. A lot of the time, these people don't originally choose to fight this battle. They look down in a hospital, and find themselves with the sudden responsibility of someone they love more than life itself, and realize that they've become one of those shepherds, and learn to fight for the broken ones.

Others are naturally that way, who gravitate toward the broken, and have fought for them their whole lives.

I fall somewhere in between. Perhaps 'shepherd of the broken' and 'keeper of the secrets' is somehow linked together in me. My desire to try and help take the hurt away in others, even if it hurts me, gets me into trouble sometimes. And knowing people's secrets can cause pain as well. And no one really knows any of my secrets, who ever truly asks, who I could trust with them in their entirety.

So each day goes by, guarding those who need to be cared for, tending those whose wounds need to be protected. And each night passes, hoping the nightmares will stay at bay long enough to sleep without dreams.

And so the cycle continues.