Lonely Lamb Gone Wild

We were visiting one of my cousins in Eureka, Mont. Mike (my cousin) and his wife, Rita, were assisting their daughter, Ellishia, in a 4-H project. They had raised two lambs, Lolo and Oreo, and entered them for judging in the county fair.

A lot of work went into raising those critters, and it wasn’t easy. Some of the things they had to do were: build the proper facility, buy the proper equipment, choose the precise nutrition, feed the animals the proper amount of food, keep them healthy, keep their fur clean, keep the stable clean, learn the proper method of showing the animals, and train them not to be afraid of people.

The day of judgment came. This was when the people raising and caring for the critters would know if the time and effort paid off. The judges were kind, but very detailed in their judging. Some animal owners got nervous and even became somewhat fearful; but others took it in stride and enjoyed the show. They knew it was not a life or death.

Although Ellishia did very well in showing Lolo, she did not win first place. That was a disappointment.

The next day presented another tense situation: the auction.

Now they would know how people financially valued their work. Would Lolo go for a paltry sum or would she be highly valued? Joy reigned because beautiful, 110-pound Lolo was purchased for a very handsome price.

Then, interestingly, joy morphed into relief. Why? All the work, effort, stress, diligence and sacrifice was over. Now Ellishia and her parents could relax. Lolo was raised, was sold for a good amount, and was gone. Whew!

But wait a minute: Lolo’s sister, Oreo, was still here. How is she reacting to this ordeal?

When Rita brought Oreo back from the fair, Mike unloaded her and took her to the pen. But something very strange took place.

Members of the deer family (sheep, goats, caribou, deer, elk, and others) will often jump from all four feet at the same time. It looks funny because it looks like they are bouncing on springs. They land on all four feet simultaneously, then spring up from all fours. If I were to put a sound to it, it would be, “Boing, boing, boing, boing.”

But Oreo was adding something to the effort. Each time she landed, she pounded the ground — hitting the ground as hard as she could. We were standing 75 feet away, but could feel the thud as well as hear it. Over and over she was running, bouncing and pounding the ground. What was going through her mind? Then it hit us.

Oreo had never been alone! She was either with her mother and sister, or with only her sister — never alone. Now, for the first time in her life, she felt hopelessly abandoned and was in trauma.

Mike and I figured it would take Oreo several days to adjust to her new life and overcome the morbid sense of loneliness.

That brought back a memory going back to 1960. Dad, a U.S. Navy chaplain, had received word that a young man in his outfit had been killed in a helicopter crash and had the responsibility of notifying the wife. I went with dad, but waited in the car.

When the woman saw dad on her doorstep in fulldress uniform on Sunday afternoon, a mortal dread enshrouded her. Dad helped her sit down. Although dad did his best, there is nothing gentle about hearing that your husband, wife or child was just killed. When trauma, mental or physical, descends upon us, responses are not always predicable.

Her strength left her but her mind went wild. She wanted to smash the wall! Slam the doors! Scream! Hit someone! But she didn’t.

Crying, she told her 4-yearold son, “Daddy won’t be coming home today; he’s gone to heaven.”

At first feeling like an unloved, abandoned, lonely lamb, the wife received wise counseling, placed her trust in our Savior, eventually emotionally healed, and three years later happily remarried.

Remember: In your time of grief, try not to go wild. Jesus is always available to help and heal you if you let Him.