on pastoring...the real shepherd

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
(Isaiah 40:12 ESV)

The rest of the story of Amanda's lamb...

Finally the day came to select the lamb. Amanda’s dad took her to the breeder, where she promptly fell in love with the first lamb that gave a “baa!” as she approached. But her dad and the breeder selected five other lambs, each approximately equal in quality and allowed Amanda to choose from this limited number. She described her selection of her lamb, telling me she chose the one the “looked at me with love in her eyes.”


When the lamb was brought home, Amanda’s dad docked its tail and put the ointment in its eyes. Her dad was in the barn twice a day to milk their goats. On weekends while Amanda played in the yard with her sisters, her dad mended broken fences and did the various other chores that were too large for a young girl to do. Amanda’s job was to help clean the barn, feed and water the lamb, and halter train it. Amanda learned that tending a lamb was a lot more work than she had bargained for. And yes, the lamb would bleat for her every morning and afternoon. One day Amanda rolled her eyes and told me, “She does that ALL the time!”

Over the winter months the sheep grew quite large. By spring the ewe’s head reached Amanda’s chest, and she weighed more than Amanda did. It was time to shear the ewe for the first time. Amanda’s dad decided he would do the job because his daughter was too small. He took the shears and entered the pen. The sheep took one look at him and thought to itself, “I know that man, and I know he is not going to touch me with that tool in his hand.” And the chase was on. Around and around the pen Amanda’s dad chased the ewe, trying to get it cornered so he could shear it. Now Amanda’s dad is over 6 foot tall and had handled goats for years, so he had the strength necessary for the job, but he could not corner the sheep. Amanda’s dad felt that if his reach were a little longer he’d be able to accomplish his goal, so he took 2X4’s to extend his reach. The sheep was too fast even for a longer reach. He tried grabbing the sheep as it ran past him but had trouble getting his fingers into the wool. Once he finally got his fingers into the wool, only to be dragged across the pen until the sheep knocked him to the ground. After 40 minutes or more, Amanda’s dad decided he needed some help, and he knew who need to be there helping him. He went inside and called Amanda.

Amanda could tell her dad was pretty heated, so she quietly followed him out to the pen. Her dad entered the pen ahead of her, leaving the gate open behind him. The sheep was immediately on guard. As Amanda pushed her way through the gate, the sheep saw its opportunity and began to run as fast as it could toward the open gate. Amanda’s dad leapt for the sheep and yelled for Amanda to get out of the way. Amanda froze in fear as the sheep barreled towards her. Just inches away from Amanda, the sheep skidded to a stop, then put its face in Amanda’s chest and trembled. Amanda reached down, stroked the sheep’s ears and talked to it, calling it by name. As long as Amanda talked to the sheep, her dad could shear it; when Amanda’s attention wandered off, the sheep began to kick and jump away from the shears.

The sheep knew who its shepherd truly was, whom it could run to in troubled times, whom it could trust. It wasn’t the man who did so much to and for it, but the little girl who did things with it, the one who cared for it and loved it. When Amanda’s dad came into the house, he smelled of sweat; when Amanda came into the house, she smelled of sheep. Maybe that’s the truest test of a shepherd.