I Want to Be a Bummer Lamb

I Want to Be a Bummer Lamb Mary Southerland Today’s Truth The stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone (Psalm 118;22, NCV). Friend to Friend I want to be a bummer lamb. Now I know what you are thinking but stay with me. I have been fascinated with sheep since I was a little girl. We lived on a farm and I really did have a little lamb. My daddy gave me that lamb. Actually, it was a trade. I was having trouble giving up my bottle. And daddy said the poor little lamb didn’t have any way to eat. So, I traded my bottle for the lamb. A sweet deal all around. And a fascination with sheep was born. While reading an article about sheep, I discovered an interesting fact about sheep. Ewes will occasionally give birth to a lamb … and then reject it. If that lamb is returned to the ewe, the mother wants nothing to do with the lamb and may even kick the poor lamb away. Evidently, once an ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind. Sheep are stubborn critters. These lambs hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with its neck. But there isn’t. Their spirit is simply broken. These lambs are called bummer lambs. The lamb will die unless the Shepherd intervenes. Do you know what the Shepherd does? He adopts that little lamb. The Shepherd takes the lamb everywhere He goes. He hand-feeds it and keeps it warm by the fire. He wraps it in a blanket and holds it to His chest so the bummer lamb can hear his heartbeat. When the bummer lamb is old enough and strong enough, the Shepherd returns it to the flock. But that lamb – now a sheep – never forgets what the Shepherd did for him. When the Shepherd calls his flock, guess who runs to Him first? Yes – the bummer sheep. Why? Because the bummer sheep immediately recognizes the Shepherd’s voice. He had grown from being a rejected lamb to being a chosen sheep. I wonder if the bummer lamb was loved more than all the other sheep. No. It is just that the little lamb knew the Shepherd intimately. He had grown up hearing the Shepherd’s voice and listening to the Shepherds heartbeat. Because he was rejected, the bummer lamb – the broken lamb, knew the Shepherd in a way none of the other sheep did. You may be broken and rejected today. You may feel like a bummer lamb. Rejoice! The Good Shepherd will gather you in His arms and hold you close so you can hear His very heartbeat. And you can rest there until you are healed and whole again. Let’s Pray Father, I am broken and rejected. Unloved and unwanted. And then you came into my life and made me whole. Thank You, Lord, for what You have done. Your love saved me. Your grace covered me. I am Yours. Help me hear Your voice above all the rest … and I will come to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.