I love sheep. I know, random topic. But I heard on the radio the other day about how absolutely dependent sheep are on their shepherd. The shepherd protects them from predators, the shepherd provides shelter, the shepherd provides a place for grazing and water to hydrate, and the shepherd styles that wooly coiffe.
As I investigated the story I heard on the radio, I read about a certain sheep, his Baarack, found in the Australian bushland. This poor thing was wild and had never been sheered. All you could see was this little nose sticking out and toothpick legs propping him up. His wool was so matted, and so heavy. He had been roaming wild for years alone. This is amazing in itself as all sheep need a shepherd. The article from Slate about Baarack says that when he was found he was brought into the fold, a sheep sanctuary (a people church?):
Not long after Baarack came here, we realized he was in big trouble. He was so close to passing away. His wool was such a heavy burden on him. He couldn’t see. And he was exhausted from years of struggling to find food and water.
Oh my goodness, do you see the parallel? Do you feel the parallel? Trouble. Passing. Heavy burden. Blind. Exhausted. Struggling. Starved.
So, Baarack, the merino wool maker got a new-do, something that he hadn’t had in 5-7 years. Now folks, I don’t know about you, but I can’t go longer than four weeks without my Trudi, I can’t imagine 5-7 years. Baarack’s barber removed 77 pounds of wool from him! That’s a lot of weight for those stick legs. This “trim” was not like a trim we get sitting in the beautician’s chair. How many of us have had to have our heart rate monitored like Baarack during a haircut to make sure we don’t have a heart attack from the shock of removing all our wool, from “having this burden taken off him.”?
Oh, my goodness, do you see the parallel? Do you feel the parallel? Heart check. Burden lifted.
I love what the shepherd said:
He had spent so much time walking with all that wool, he’d grown used to it. When he stood up without it, he struggled to walk without it. I thought he was going to collapse. But as he took more steps, it was like, ‘Oh, oh, I feel better now.’ Imagine carrying half your weight on your back for years. That’s what he had been doing.
Oh, my goodness, do you see the parallel? Do you feel the parallel? Carrying a weight.
Is there something we’ve been carrying around for 5-7 years, possibly longer, possibly a lifetime, something that is such a burden, that is weighing us down making it hard for us to exist, much less walk? Is there something we need to let our Shepherd shear in our lives? Is there a burden that needs to be combed through, curried out, cut away? Are you tired of walking around with your hair just a mess? Are you tired of carrying a load much heavier than you were intended to, a load much too heavy to bear?
When Baarack’s shepherd was asked how he survived, she said it was really hard to tell:
Sheep can’t breathe with all that warmth on their back. It’s really difficult for them to see and find food. Sheep are herd animals – and he didn’t have any of his kind around him – which is really stressful for him. He had to make do with the company of wild animals. There’s not much grass in the forest, ad there’s barely any way. He’d just been finding puddles to drink water. He’s been a very resourceful boy.
Although this poor thing had been “very resourceful,” he was close to death. He couldn’t make it on his own, without a shepherd. The shepherd said that Baarack should have been terrified of them, but he wasn’t. He went right to them. She said that she believed he “knew we were here to ease his suffering.”
Oh, my goodness, do you see the parallel? Do you feel the parallel?
Maybe the reason I love sheep so much is that I am just like them. I have got to have a Shepherd. Not any shepherd, but The Shepherd, we all need One. I like sheep am utterly dependent on my Shepherd for all things. To protect me from predators, to provide shelter, to provide a place for grazing and water to hydrate, and to style my wooly coiffe. The Lord is my Shepherd. He claims us!
You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.” Ezekiel 34:31
Baarack is doing well and has all his needs provided for. By the way, the name “Baarack” means “blessed.”
Oh, my goodness, do you see the parallel? Do you feel the parallel?