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Sep 30, 2024 140 Kelly Ann Guest
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I Am That Lamb!

You may have a million reasons to say ‘no’ to a possible good deed, but are those really valid?

I sat in my van waiting for my daughter to finish her horseback riding lesson. At the farm where she rides, there are horses, sheep, goats, bunnies, and lots of barn cats.  

I got distracted from watching my daughter when I noticed a boy leading a newly sheared lamb back to its pen. Suddenly, the animal decided it did not want to go to the pasture and plopped down right there in the pathway.

Try as he may, the boy could not get the lamb to move (a full-grown sheep is not little, weighing on average over 100 pounds). He pulled on the leash. He went behind the lamb and tried to push on the rear end. He attempted to lift it up from under its belly. He even tried reasoning with the sheep, talking to it, promising to give it a treat if it would just follow him. Still, the lamb lay in the middle of the trail.

I smiled and thought to myself: “I am that lamb!”

How often do I refuse to go where the Lord is trying to lead me?

Sometimes, I am afraid to do what Jesus is asking of me. It is out of my comfort zone. Someone may not like me if I speak the Truth; it might offend them. Am I even qualified for the task? Fear prevents me from fulfilling God’s incredible plan for me. 

Other times, I am too tired or downright lazy. Helping others takes time, time that I had planned to do something else—something I wanted to do. There are times when I feel that I do not have the energy to volunteer for one more thing. Sadly, I refuse to give a little more of myself. Selfishness prevents me from gaining the graces God is sending me.

I am not sure why that lamb stopped moving forward. Was it afraid? Or tired? Or just plain lazy? I don’t know. Eventually, the little shepherd was able to coax his lamb into moving again and got it to the green pastures where it could safely lie down.

Like the shepherd boy, Jesus pokes and prods me, but in my stubbornness, I refuse to move. How sad! I am missing out on opportunities, perhaps even miracles. Truly, there is nothing to fear, for Jesus promised He’d be with me (Psalms 23:4). When Jesus asks something of me, “there is nothing I lack” (Psalms 23:1), not time nor energy. If I do get tired: “He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul.” (Psalms 23:2,3) Jesus is my Good Shepherd.

Lord, forgive me. Help me to always follow You wherever You may lead me. I trust that You know what is best for me. You are my Good Shepherd. Amen.

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Kelly Ann Guest

Kelly Ann Guest is blessed to share God’s love with her husband and their nine wonderful children. She is the author of Saintly Moms: 25 Stories of Holiness and blogs at nun2nine.com. She is the Director of Family Faith Formation at her parish.

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