When the Shepherd Teaches Through Sheep

When I married at the age of eighteen, my family increased with not only a husband, but his parents, and a younger sister and brother. My new in-laws loved me as a daughter. I snuggled into the warmth of their family like a baby in a blanket. My father-in-law and I had an unspoken bond of love. At our wedding, he told my new husband, his son, he'd better take good care of me.

Bronson, my father-in-law

The first time we met was in a diner in Montgomery, West Virginia while we were still in college. He was working close by and met us for supper. The stories I'd heard of how he was a rough and tumble man who worked hard, said few words, but carried a great presence, were right on target. I was terrified of him from the first handshake. The description in my mind increased after our first introduction.

As time went along and I got to know him, a different man appeared. His tender side emerged every spring, along with his green thumb. There was nothing that man couldn't do with a pile of dirt, some seeds, and a little water. He also loved his family. His generosity and kind heart showered his girls with the largest box of chocolate to be found on Valentine's Day.

Lucy, fresh from the farm

This man I was so afraid of in the beginning of my relationship with his son did something that has taught me many life lessons. He went turkey hunting in the mountains of West Virginia every spring where they had a small camp. One of the neighbors was a local farmer. Bronson, my father-in-law always stopped to visit before he left. One of his sheep had died, leaving a set of twins the farmer was feeding with a bottle. For whatever reason, my father-in-law thought of me. I got the surprise of my life when he pulled in my driveway and got out of the truck carrying two of the sweetest creatures God ever made, with the biggest grin plastered across his face. I was never afraid of him again.

My life as a shepherdess was born that day.

This spring, my Friday morning Bible study group studied the book, Finding I Am by Lysa TerKeurst. One of the chapters was titled, I Am the Good Shepherd. It was my favorite because of my season of shepherding. It was easy for me to picture the references and apply them to myself.


The words of Psalm 95:6 jumped off the page:

"Come let us bow down in worship,

let us kneel before the Lord our maker;

for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture,

the flock under His care."

A sheep has to fold its front legs to lay down. It looks as if the sheep is kneeling. It's knees are rough and calloused where the wool has been rubbed off from kneeling.

Lucy, with two lambs of her own

Scripture says, "we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care." We are to kneel in worship.

As I read the words on the page, I pictured my own knees. Are they rough and calloused from kneeling in worship? Do I submit myself to His care or do I try to meet my own needs? Do I recognize Him as my God? I must submit myself in humility before true worship can take place. I must understand that everything comes directly from His hand. He is my provider, my protector, and without Him I am nothing. I am exposed to danger, to unseen elements that only He can protect me from. Do I truly understand what it means to be under His care?

Another thing I learned is that He loves me and you tenderly and lovingly as a shepherd loves his sheep. Just as I discovered I had no reason to be afraid of my father-in-law, I need not fear God and His plan for my life. My awe of Him, my worship of Him, yes, but not the kind of human fear that causes distrust.

My prayer is that I have knees that tell the story of how much I love Him. I am so thankful for gifts of love from unexpected places from people He placed in my life, even hard-headed sheep to teach lessons that last a lifetime.

What are the unexpected gifts you've been given that have taught you a life lesson? Nothing of value is wasted. Everything we go through, good or bad, can be used to strengthen us and then we can pass it on to another.

Lessons from a Sheep...The Secret to Contentment

Do you know what it's like to live an "I want" lifestyle?

If you're not this kind of person, you know someone who is; the kind of person who is never satisfied with what they have or who they are.

We all have some degree of want in us. If we didn't, we'd lie around like fat cats all day waiting for our next meal to be presented on a silver platter.

God planted a seed of motivation in our DNA so we'd rise from our beds each morning and face the day, even when our want may have went somewhere else. There's another kind of want that leads to discontent, that usually leads to trouble, that leads to wandering...far.

I was reading in Jesus Calling, "Be content to be a simple sheep, listening to my voice and following me..."

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, 

He leads me beside quiet waters, 

He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His names' sake.

Psalm 23:1-3

I've been in want in my life. There were times I didn't know where food and shelter were coming from, but He always provided.

There are few things the body and soul really need: clothing, shelter, love, and purpose.

Have you found yourself caught in the hustle of life, the hustle of more and better? Are you discontent in all you do, seeking the "I want" lifestyle and finding there is no peace, no satisfaction?

May I suggest the lifestyle of a simple sheep? There is quiet and calm, even when trouble is nearby. The Shepherd will care for your needs and you will never be in true want. He will make you lie down in green pastures and restore your soul.

I wouldn't mind a rest in a nice green spot, and a little soul restoration sounds mighty pleasant.

And then...He sets my wandering feet back on the right path. 

Life may not be easy, but there's peace, even in the midst of a storm. 

It begins with listening; taking the focus off yourself and your wants. The end result is your wants will be satisfied. He promised and He never breaks a promise. You'll wake up one day in the midst of that green pasture and realize your wants have changed, and it began with being a contented sheep.


Cindy

Sheep of His Pasture

Once upon a time when I was a young wife living in the hills of West Virginia in a little log cabin, my father-in-law brought me two lambs and I became their surrogate momma.

Baby Lucy

He'd been in the mountains turkey hunting and one of the neighbors where he hunted was a sheep farmer. Bronson could be an intimidating man but he loved animals so he stopped to look at the new lambs. The mother of the lambs had died so he must have thought to himself, "I'll take these little lambs to Cindy, she can't have babies of her own, this is the next best thing" ...they did have to be bottle fed, after all. He was a man's man, but he did have a soft spot for me and I know this was an act of love. I was thrilled for I love animals too!

I began mixing formula and getting my babies on a schedule. I was in heaven until one of them died. I was grief stricken. I couldn't even
keep a baby lamb alive. I pulled myself together and vowed that the remaining lamb would live. I named her Lucy, after my grandmother(she was honored). Since lambs have to eat like babies, with a bottle and nipple, we bonded very quickly. She grew and flourished and eventually moved to other foods but our bond was cemented.

Our little log house sat on thirty acres and we didn't keep her in the fence all the time so she would wander down to the house. If I had the windows open and she could hear my voice, she would follow the sound of my voice from window to window. It was the sweetest thing...by now you know where I'm going with this.

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me." John 10:27 NASB

Last summer, I clearly heard His voice telling me to "Be still and know Him." So...I gave up some responsibilities so I could do just that. I've been "busy" in the church for most of my life and though I know Him, He wants me to REALLY know Him, intimately like no other. Everything I've read or studied since last summer goes back to, "Be still and know Me." I want to know Him so well that no matter where I am or what I'm doing I will go from window to window just to catch a glimpse of Him. I want to look for Him in the everyday, ordinary things.

They say sheep are very dumb, and that may be. I'd rather be the dumbest sheep in the pasture than the most brilliant scientist on the planet that has just discovered the serum that would cure every disease known to mankind, if that brilliance kept me from the simplicity of the gospel.

I learned so much from my adventures with Lucy and her offspring. She gave birth to Desi and then twins the next spring. The parables in the Bible came alive for me during this time. Sheep are defenseless and need a shepherd to guide them. They are easy prey for wild animals and easily led astray to greener pastures.

We are much like sheep...we too are easy prey for evil attacks but there is so much more at stake. We want to go our own way, and many times find ourselves in what we thought were greener pastures. 

Lucy with her twins
Desi in the background

But, the good news is if we'll listen to the sound of the Shepherd's voice, He will guide us and lead us. One of the most quoted passages of scripture in the Bible is also the most comforting, and pictures the Lord as our Shepherd and we, the sheep of His pasture.

The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Psalm 23:1-3 NIV



Isn't that reassuring? Then, when we get quiet and still before Him, He speaks.

Have a blessed day,
Cindy