Transitions...

Every year the sheep are moved from drylot to pasture where their diet goes from stored hay to lush green grass. For the sheep it is an agonizing transition...they can see the grass growing all around them, they can nibble the little bits that persist in their dry lot...but they cannot get enough to feel satiated.

For the shepherd it is equally agonizing. You see, a good shepherd doesn't manage sheep, they manage grass. The grass stand should be about six inches before turning the sheep onto it, and they must be removed before grazing it below three inches. Grass must not be overgrazed, and must be allowed to recouperate, to insure that the sheep have access to healthy pasture throughout the season. This is achieved by timely rotation of pastures. Of course, watching the grass grow is tedious at best. And like watching for water to boil, when you are waiting, it seems to take forever. Since our pastures aren't irrigated, it also means timing the watering, and dragging hoses and sprinklers. All to grow grass - something that is DEADLY to our sheep.

Deadly? But isn't grass good for sheep? Isn't that what they are supposed to eat?

Indeed. But the transition from hay to grass is the most dangerous time of the year. Sheep are ruminants with a complex sytem of four stomachs and digestive bacteria that must stay in a delicate balance. Any change in their diet upsets this balance. Grass ferments in a way that hay doesn't, and can cause a buildup of gas (called bloat) inside of the sheep that is painful, to say the least, and can end by suffocating the sheep to death, sometimes inside of two hours.

Transition must occur slowly. A wise shepherd will control the sheep's access to grass to make sure that the bacteria has time to adjust. The sheep are let onto pasture, and then after a short time, moved back to dry lot - against their wishes, and under protest. Each day, depending on their response to transition, their condition - not their desire - the time on pasture is increased or decreased. The sheep must be watched with a careful eye for signs of bloat. Are the rumens (stomach) full, or are they swelling? Still passing pellets, or are there indications that the digestive process is compromised?

Unfortunately, the sheep, like many of us, have no concept of the danger that something good can pose for them. They like it, so they want as much as they can get. They do not want to be denied. Managing them at this time of year is heartwrenching. They feel deprived, like children. If we loved them, we would let them out of dry lot and deprivation onto lush pasture and indulgence. If we loved them, they would have everything they see, everything they want; we wouldn't withhold good things from them. But that isn't love. Love sets limits. A good shepherd protects sheep from themselves, preserving their lives. He gives them every good thing, in moderation, in the amount they are equipped to handle, in the proper time. A good parent does this for their children. And we, the sheep of God's pasture, His children, are blessed to have a Good Shepherd, a loving Father, who cares for us in the same fashion.

Sometimes we, like sheep, can see the "grass" on the other side, and can't understand why it is being withheld from us, why there seems to be a barrier between us and the things we so desire. Sometimes we begin to "taste" something good, ony to have it taken away and are anguished by the loss...Sometimes we are overwhelmed by limitations and feel deprived - or abandoned. Even though my sheep cannot always see me - I am always there. I provide for them, and am always at work on their behalf in ways they will never know. I am ever watchful for signs of need or distress, and will never let them suffer unduly. Sometimes sheep, in their own folly and stubbornness, will evade the boundaries lovingly set to protect them. As a shepherd, sometimes I am powerless to solve the problems they cause themselves. I can offer them compassion and comfort, and make an effort to heal them, but they suffer the consequences. Loving parents experience this with disobedient children. A loving God experiences this with a sinful humanity. It grieves the heart of the shepherd and the parent.

We must learn to accept boundaries and limitations, and not grasp out of greed and desire for all that we can have, or believe we should have. We must put our lives in the hands of the Good Shepherd, who lovingly cares for us, and knows how delicate the balance is between what is beneficial, and what is harmful. We must accept the consequences of our sinfulness and stubborness as results of our disobedience that grieves the heart of the One who cares for us, and turn to him for the care, comfort and healing he can offer. No good can come to the sheep that defies the Shepherd or the child that despises their Father, but one who rests in His wisdom and care will thrive.