On Friday, we spent some time watching a professional sheep shearer at work. It was impressive.
Getting one sheep out of the holding pen into the shearing pen took two strong men on each side of the sheep. They each grabbed a front leg and a handful of wool and walked the reluctant victim on his back legs from one pen to the next.
Now comes the hard part. Before the shearing can begin, the sheep has to be taken down. That is, he has to be taken off his feet and onto his back in order for him to be unable to move, and then the shearer could get to work. It took him about five minutes to do one sheep, unless the sheep managed to regain his footing and try to escape.
Getting the sheep onto its back was so interesting. The shearer simply grabbed the animal’s jaw and turn its head around toward its back until I thought for sure it was going to go all the way around, a complete 360º and its neck would crack. Instead, the sheep simply collapsed onto its back. Plop!
I didn’t realize the shearing took the wool off right down to the skin. What started out as a fat, wooly sheep left the pen a pink and much-reduced but probably slightly chilly sheep. Must have been a little embarrassing 🙂
And of course my mind was on all the times Jesus referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd, and those who believe in Him are his sheep. He is indeed a tender Shepherd, caring for His flock, making sure they find green pasture and still waters. He protects us from danger, and makes sure we are safely brought home.
There were a couple of sheep that managed to escape from being brought to the holding pen. Of course, being sheep, some followed where the first one led. The rest were blocked from following, and the strays were rounded up. Silly sheep didn’t know enough to stay where they were safe and would lose those hot, heavy coats of wool so they could enjoy the warmth of the spring sun.
John 10:27-30.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and my Father are one.
Linda's Bible Study 
One of my girls is so allergic to wool that she can’t even visit the sheep at the county fair but she does respect my huge sheep collection, including a real sheep skin. One of my friends visited New Zealand, a big sheep producing country, and she brought back the skin. I love collecting sheep because of the identification with the Good Shepherd.
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Is it the lanolin that she’s allergic to? I can’t wear wool–I itch so badly I feel as if I’m on fire. Terry loves wool, says it’s the most comfortable thing in the world. Not for me.
I, too, always think of Jesus the Good Shepherd whenever I see sheep 🙂
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Sheep and shepherds are both so amazing. Especially considering all the Biblical stories they play a part of. We got to watch a sheep dog competition once, and that was amazing too. The shepherd often didn’t have to make a sound, just move his hands. But even those sheep dogs knew their shepherd so well that’s all it took! I pray I may also know my shepherd so well, that the slightest gesture shows the way!
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Sheep dogs are amazing! I’ve seen them work onTV, never in real life. Agree completely with your last sentence.
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