COLUMN: The Bummer Lamb

               The day started out much like most days with morning feedings at the farm.  As I was feeding the ewes, I noticed one of the lambs that had been born the previous day was not looking so well.  I had noticed earlier it always seemed to be alone while the other two from this triplet birth was right with the mom.  It quickly earned the nickname Salty due to it appearing a little salty toward the rest of the family soon after its birth.  Today it appeared weak and barely able to raise its head.  I immediately recognized what I was looking at, a bummer lamb.  Salty was not trying to be salty or aloof at all.  She had been rejected by the ewe.  Sometimes when an ewe gives birth to a lamb, she will reject it.   These lambs are called “bummer lambs.”  If the lamb is returned to its mother, she may even kick the poor lamb to keep it away.  Once she rejects the lamb, she will never change her mind.  Unless there is intervention the lamb will die, rejected and alone.

I quickly carried Salty to the bench in front of my art barn and began feeding her a milk supplement while holding her close to my chest to warm her up.  Often new babies will not take to the new supplement.  If the lamb does not get the needed nourishment, it will not survive long.  Once fed I carried her into the house to care for her until she was strong enough to survive.  She would sit in my lap as I read my devotions and then follow me from room to room just as my German Shepherd does daily.  She would recognize my voice and immediately come running.  Salty quickly fell into my daily routine and followed me around as I fed the other animals.  Entering the pasture where her mom was with the other two surviving lambs, Salty quickly ran behind me for safety as the ewe unhappily started for her.  Salty immediately remembered who had cared for her and protected her when she was weak.

Is it bad being the bummer lamb? Rejection is hard on anyone that feels the sting.  We all would love to be invited to sit at the table.  It can hold us bondage for a lifetime if we continue to seek acceptance and intimacy from the wrong source.  Salty quickly found love and care from the shepherd.  Just as I have found great comfort from my Shepherd.  He carries me to a safe place and provides the nurture and acceptance I so desperately seek.  When I find myself weary and exhausted from the sting of rejection or the need to accomplish it all on my own, I can remember where my help comes from.  The one who guided my path when I needed to be redirected from something that was not beneficial in my purpose.

“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb:  Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you!…”  Isaiah 46:3-4

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”  Isaiah 40:31

“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”  Jeremiah 31:25