Baa . . . Baa

“Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Baa, Baa Black Sheep” were two of the nursery rhymes I sang to my 2-year-old granddaughter last week as we travelled the Welsh countryside. Look anywhere and one could see pasture upon pasture of sheep.

It seemed every bit of land that had been reclaimed from wilderness or woods became a long strip of pasture, separated from the next strip by a low divide of rock wall or hedge. Each pasture was home to ewes with lambs and every size in between.

A few months ago, I memorized a passage from the Gospel of John (chapter 10, verses 1-18) in which Jesus declares himself to be the good shepherd, how he calls his own sheep by name, how they follow him. With those verses in mind, I observed the sheep in Wales. But I never saw a shepherd or any other human in the pastures. Nor did I see a wolf or other predator and I wondered how the low walls kept the sheep safe.

But I did notice something else. Almost all the sheep were engaging in the same activity—morning, afternoon, or evening—constantly. Heads diligently bent to the ground, they ate continually.

The sheep didn’t seem to be distracted by other animals around them, our presence or voices (for more than a few minutes anyway), or the chilling, sometimes drizzly weather. They simply continued to eat, graze, and ingest the life-giving supply provided for them.

These Welsh sheep reproved me. I, too, need (yes, need) to eat spiritual food constantly, to chew on it, to relish the life-giving supply God has provided in His Word. Sure, there will be times when my mind is fully occupied with something else, but far too often I waste my mental processes to useless or random thoughts. I fail to focus my mind on what it needs the most—Truth.

Constant meditation (focus on God’s Word) may seem too big of a goal right now for you. But could you move in that direction? Can you choose one time of the day or one activity during the day that you could turn off the noise and allow truth to saturate your thoughts? Try it and let me know the results.