I need to be reminded afresh of a gentle, tender Lord who wants to heal our wounds and deal with our hurts. And because he has shed his own tears as the perfect God-Man, he is well placed to wipe our tears as well. Our God specialises in mending the brokenhearted and restoring the prodigal.
We are all broken people. We are all wounded. We are all hurting. We are all messed up. While this is true for all of us, many will try to deny it, or cover it up, or put on a brave face, or lash out to protect themselves. There are so many wrong ways that we seek to deal with our brokenness and hurt.
Some folks will pretend they are fully independent and have it all together and do not need the help of others. They are just kidding themselves. I know people like this. All their life they lived as someone who could solve their own problems, get along without the help of others, and be seemingly altogether independent.
But old age or something else will catch up with them and they lose much of their independence and they will start to really have to depend on others for their care and well-being. That can be a real shock to the system. They finally come to realise that they are not all that self-sufficient and they do not have it all together.
Others however know full well what a basketcase they are. They do not hide their brokenness and rejection and pain. They know they are miserable and feeling unwanted and unloved. Again, many can respond wrongly to this: alcoholism, or drug or porn addictions, or anger and hatred of self and others, and so on.
We all have these hurts and feelings of rejection. How we deal with them is crucial. With all this in mind, let me share something someone had put on the social media. I assume it is basically accurate. It is a moving piece, and we of course can get so many spiritual lessons from it. It goes like this:
Every once in a while, a ewe will give birth to a lamb and reject it. There are lots of reasons she may do this. If the shepherd tries to return the lamb, the mother might even kick the baby away. Once a ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind.
These little lambs will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with their little necks. Their spirits are broken. These lambs are called “bummer lambs.” Unless the shepherd intervenes, that little lamb will die – rejected and alone.
Do you know what the shepherd usually does? The shepherd will take that rejected little lamb into their home, hand-feed it and keep it warm. They will wrap it up with blankets and hold it to their chest so the little lamb can hear their heartbeat. Once the lamb is strong enough, the shepherd will place it back in the field with the rest of the flock.
That sheep never forgets the shepherd’s love and care when their mother rejected them. When the shepherd calls for the flock, guess which sheep runs first? That sheep knows the shepherd’s voice.
The bummer lamb isn’t loved more, it just knows intimately the one who loves it.
Subscribe to Free “Top 10 Stories” Email
Get the top 10 stories from The Aquila Report in your inbox every Tuesday morning.