Bumping the Bag

I have to be honest, I've been dreading this post. Weeks ago, I felt like I was inspired to write about this topic, but I put it off.

When a goat gets milked (whether by hand or by the mouth of her suckling kid), much luscious milk is enjoyed in plenteousness for most of the milking process. However, as she gets emptied, there is something that must be done to induce the flow of the last of the milk in the udder....bumping the bag. When a human is bumping the bag, you just lightly bump the bottom of the udder with your fist on either side and continue milking. Usually, you have to do this a few times before she's empty enough to quit milking. When her kids do this, it's much more violent. These tiny, hungry mouths with sharp teeth pound her poor udder as a hammer hitting a nail. Over and over, this selfish pounding occurs as the mother endures as much as she can. After a time, she often tries to run off and has to fight for her freedom over and over as her kids keep rushing at her. I've often seen the babies bump so hard that they lift the rear end of their mother off the ground.

One of my does recently gave birth to triplets. Normally, this would be a joyous celebration of fruitfulness, but there's a problem....a goat has two teats, not three. Her kids have been literally brutalizing her udder. Every evening, I separate her kids from her so that I can milk her in the morning. Every morning, I sit down to milk her and have to do so very gingerly because her teats are scabbed over and bloody. Even my gentle touch reopens these wounds every day. Her kids are indifferent to the pain they cause her because they are only thinking of themselves.

My children are yet very young, and I've often felt as if they are 'bumping my bag' all day. It's hard to get a moment's peace because I keep hearing,"mom", "mom", "mom"....all day. I'm not complaining, because I know this is temporary. Also, it's great to know that they regard me so highly as to want to share every little thing with me. However, I have days in which I feel like my soul is in the same condition as my goat's udder--scabbed, bloody, worn out and empty.

God also is in on this thing. He wants to empty me of what I'm storing. Whatever goodness I've made, He wants to extract it because it's my responsibility to 'feed' others. When I think I have no more to give, he 'bumps my bag'. However, he is more like the gentle hand milker. You see, when I milk my goats, they stand on a stanchion (milk stand) and eat their fill of their favorite treats while I milk them. I am tender and make sure I fill them up as I empty them. Adversely, their babies can only take.

My children are at a point in which their 'bumping' is of a selfish nature and they don't think of the tax it puts on me. It's my responsibility, however, to not only fill them up but to teach them how to give back. They will not be kids forever, and they need to learn every day to be more like the gentle hand milker. While they are yet learning, though, I must lean into God who feeds me. He takes good care of me and makes sure I get all I need.

"God gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." -Isaiah 40:29. If you're worn out, you're in good company!

For those of you who feel the way I do, and whose soul is often feeling the way mine does, remember to press into God. Read the Word; it will refresh you, I promise. Pray. Pray as much as you can. Pray in the Spirit so that the act of praying itself will not weary you. Trust. God is good on His word. And remember, if you don't like having your 'bag' violently bumped, employ the golden rule and don't do it to others! Children learn by example.