Exposure

This morning when I went out to do chores, I found what nobody likes to see. My purebred Katahdin ewe decided to wander out of the warm barn at night and have her lambs OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SNOWY, FROZEN PASTURE!!! We even have run-in sheds out there, but she decided to avoid all forms of shelter and just be dumb. There, she delivered two large, healthy lambs onto a pile of snow and ice with a -5 degree wind chill.

Needless to say, the sight I encountered chilled my heart. One ram lamb had frozen solid to the ground and was most assuredly dead. The other one was still alive, but all of it's extremities were frozen stiff and it hadn't even been cleaned off very well. I scooped up the living lamb and rushed him inside. I wrapped him in towels and sat in front of the furnace with him. I rubbed and rubbed until he was dry and I had the circulation going well enough. Then I gave him some vitamins to stimulate his appetite. He was so weak, that I simply wrapped him in blankets and left him there until I was done with my other work.

I began to think of myself and my role as a mother...would I let my children die of exposure? I most certainly would not go out into the snow to give birth, what spiritual things do I expose them to that they are not strong enough to endure? There are many things in our harsh world that would seek to destroy a delicate life. The cold of our enemy and the cruelty of his appetite would love nothing more than to prey upon the most innocent and vulnerable of God's people. What can we do to fortify ourselves so that we do not expose ourselves to such elements?

Proverbs 25:28 says,"Like a city breached, without walls, is a person who lacks self-control." Not ruling our spirit is a key way to let our selves nearly die of exposure. When our defenses are not up, the enemy sees this and crawls all over us and does his utmost to destroy us. We need to guard ourselves and rule our spirits wisely. The Word of God reveals that only by relying on the precepts of God and the strength of his Holy Spirit can we withstand what our enemy rails against us.

"Blessed by Adonai, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. He shows me grace; and he is my fortress, my stronghold, in whom I find shelter, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me. Adonai, what are mere mortals, that you notice them at all; humans that you think about them? Man is like a puff of wind, his days like a fleeting shadow." -Psalms 144:1-4

As the covering for my children, I need to teach them how to fight. I cannot let them be exposed to the danger of the enemy before they have been properly equipped. God doesn't do that to us, so I should not do that to them. As their trainer and leader, I will protect them and lead them to safe places. As a dumb ewe lays her wet newborns in the snow, some mothers leave their children to harmful influences. Dear God, give me the grace and wisdom and discernment to care when I don't want to and to teach when I don't like it and to love even when it hurts.