The Treatment of the Crowd is #5 in the Back to the Tree series. “The crowd” means something different to us depending on where we are in our lives. Sometimes it’s peer pressure. Sometimes it’s alluring ideas and popularity. Sometimes it’s the voices in our head telling us we’re not worthwhile, that we’re not enough, that we will never succeed, that we should simply quit, that God doesn’t care about us or have a plan for us…even that He’s forgotten about us. Sometimes, “the crowd” treats us poorly or convinces us that we would be treated better, or happier, if we would only listen to them and do things their way. What does your “crowd” tell you? Here, the woman has a choice to make. To let go and respond to the treatment of the crowd, or to continue to hold fast to the Shepherd’s rod.