I was pouring water into a trough just over the fence in a neighbour’s paddock. Drought had taken away the water supply for his sheep but we have an underground flow and could keep the trough full.
Further down the hill, among the rocks, his sheep heard the water being hosed into the trough. They lifted their heads and slowly turned towards it. On wobbly legs behind them, two sheep had a young lamb and the lambs followed their mothers closely.
Up the hill they came, following narrow, single track made by generations of sheep before them. They came to the water and the mothers drank deeply. The tiny lambs were too young to drink water but they stayed close to their mothers and wherever the mothers went, the lambs were with them.
Afterwards they all lay down together under the shade of the tree where the grass was kept green by the overflow from the trough. All the sheep benefited from the water given to the adult sheep and the mothers passed the benefits on to their lambs indirectly.
Perhaps the Lord saw it all happening down the generations of time. While he was intent on bringing the mothers to water, he was just as intent on bringing the lambs with them because he said, ‘Like a shepherd he will tend his flock, and with his arm keep them together, he will carry the lambs in his bosom and lead the ewes to water’ (Isaiah 14:11 NASU)
I am so grateful that my neighbour’s sheep remind me of the One who leads us to the water of eternal life with our lambs.
Elizabeth Price.
You can contact Elizabeth direct at mailto:reprice@dragnet.com.au