Spot on The Lamb and The Shepherd

~The days are growing near for my ewes ( girl sheep ) to lamb, and Goth the Destroying ram will have to be re-located into his ram pen. I get pretty excited about lambs, and since Goth has been with his harem since mid-July, there is a chance we can have lambs this month. From my observations of my flock, if there are no lambs this month, it will NOT be for Goth's lack of pursuit and conquest. He is a happy ram. Ewes, alfalfa, what more can a ram want except for a tree or fence to destroy as the mood strikes.~Do you see the ewe looking towards me as I take this picture ? This morning as I hurried off to another bazaar, she was off by herself, not eating like the other sheep. I was certain we would come home to lambs, and I do not like to be away from home during lambing even though my Jacob sheep are very hardy and I have had only 1 lambing problem with my Jacob sheep in 20 years of keeping them.... ~So when Hubby and I came home late tonight after the bazaar AND Hubby's work Christmas party , a very big, and very healthy coyote ran right in front of the car , running out of our orchard which is right next to our sheep pen ! (the picture below was taken by me at Northwest Trek which is a few miles form our home). All of a sudden I realized in spite of all the family gatherings and festivities and obligations of this wonderful month long celebration, I have sheep to protect. Sheep need a shepherd , or shepherdess. I am the shepherdess of Cedar Pond and my sheep need ME for protection from predators. I called to mind all the scripture verses and Christmas songs about sheep, shepherds, lambs. "And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night." Luke 2:8 ~During lambing I am up very , very late, checking on my sheep. We have a LOT of coyotes and a few cougars that frequent our area and a neighbor told me at the bazaar today they have seen a bear several times around their place. When lambs are born, though the mother can run away, the lambs are pretty defenseless. They need a shepherd. ~At the bazaar today, the man we commissioned to make a cane for Hubby brought the finished cane. It does not photograph well because the ram on the cane goes all around the cane. But the gentleman who made this actually pulled a picture of Goth from my web site and drew and worked him into the wood. It is a beautiful walking cane with carved in hand grips for Hubby. ~ Here is Goth, my single ram destruction crew. Can you spot the resemblance ? Anyway, as usual, my sheep cause me to think about Jesus. He was born even more defenseless than a lamb,and John the Baptist, on seeing Jesus coming toward him while he was baptizing in the Jordan said ,"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29 ~Jesus is referred to as a lamb, and in Hebrews 13:20 "Now the God of peace who brought us up from the dead, the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord." He is our SHEPHERD too ! We are always the sheep. I just have way too much thinking going on in my brain when I watch my sheep, and see the lambs, the rams, the sheep as a group. They are so dang stubborn, and often so defenseless, and resist my care and protection..no wonder we are called sheep. And yet, Jesus, GOD, became as a lamb, helpless and led to the slaughter, was crucified, then resurrected and is our great Shepherd. And I really, truly know , sheep NEED a shepherd! I need THE SHEPHERD ! This is the reason I am so happy to celebrate His birth, in a manger, ( there were probably sheep there ) in a stable, and His first visitors were the lowly shepherds who were out in the fields late at night. ( Notice, the shepherds were tending their sheep LATE AT NIGHT , night owls in the Bible!) I am a night owl sheep who the Shepherd that became as a Lamb led to the slaughter , tends and cares for in spite of myself...thank-you Lord. ~So,to all you sheep out there today, have a blessed Sunday..and rest of the week too ! Seek the Shepherd and hear His voice, and receive His care and protection. It's for your own good, as I tell my sheep while tending them and saving them from themselves!