The Sheep Bridge

An adventure to Wales taught me a lesson about a new perspective on going through adversity.

Recently as I was going through some old photos of some of my past adventures, I came across one that was taken on my most memorable trip to the country of Wales. The picture, shown below, is a simple bridge that we came upon back in the country near the town of Bridgend. They call it a "sheep bridge". It was beautifully crafted of arched stone over a small meandering river and curiously all along both sides of the bridge were holes that had been built for a specific purpose that I was soon to learn of. As we stood on the bridge we could see an old Welsh fisherman coming towards us in waist high wading boots and rod and reel in hand. My friend, who goes on most of my adventures with me, approached the man because she just "had" to know his name. He did look like someone on one of the Welsh travel brochures and she just "had" to know if he had a story to tell. She found his name to be Rob and he told her all about the sheep bridge that we were standing on. He said that the holes were built so that when  shepherds drove their sheep to the river for their annual "bath" it made it quite a lot easier for the shepherds to get the "bathing" task done. You see, before the sheep can be sheared it helps to have their wool as clean as possible and free from burrs, dirt or anything that could get caught up in their thick fleece. And, sheep, being the "agreeable" creatures that they are would never go anywhere near the river if they didn't have to, well, except maybe for a drink but that's where it ends. So, the holes in the sheep bridge were constructed to "persuade" the sheep to have an annual bath. When the shepherd drove them across the bridge, he would simply "shove" a sheep, one at a time , through one of the holes and into the river. Then, bleeting madly, they would swim safely to the river bank and climb out all washed and clean for the sheering. Simple but effective! Rob told us it was also called the "dipping bridge" by some but either way it was a very necessary tool for the shepherd. As I looked at this photo I couldn't help but think that we, being the agreeable creatures that we are, sometimes need certain things cleaned out of our lives and does our shepherd seemingly "shove" us into situations that we don't like for our own good? Answer, "probably"! Haven't you found yourself going through struggles that you hated or felt like were the worst thing to ever happen to you and yet you got through them and could see on the other side that they happened for your own good? Probably, right?  You may be in the midst of one right now and can't figure out "why" the good shepherd would allow you to be in a "river of troubles" but you keep swimming hoping and trusting that you won't drown and you won't! You see, back to the sheep, if the shepherd thought that any one of his sheep were in trouble as they swam in the river, he would jump in the river and rescue that one sheep so no harm would come to it. Whatever it took, that shepherd would see that the sheep in his charge were cared for even at risk of life and limb. So. . . . . . . .even more so does our shepherd care for us! You might not want to be shoved into a small hole that leads into a cold river and you may not want to have to swim for your life to get to safety and solid ground but you can! And, he does care enough about you to put you there to clean you up and to see that you are safe and protected during the process. THAT'S love, care, trust and protection like no other. So when you cross your "sheep bridge", just take a deep breath and know that the master shepherd knows exactly what to do! 
  

Insight Insert: Many times we find ourselves in situations that makes us feel like we are in over our heads or drowning but God knows better than we do exactly what we need and he needs us to be. Our lives sometimes need that dip in the rivers of what seem like "adversity" but are in actuality the cleansing waters of his love and care for us. Ask him to show you what things are "stuck in the wool of your life" that need washing away. Then, take the plunge to get them washed away. He won't let you drown.

Scripture: Titus 3:5.  He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.  NIV

Reviews

[Samuel Dickens]

I find this quite enjoyable and well-written. The question you pose is thought-provoking and in my experience, very plausible. Certainly, I've been run into a hole or two that left me better, once I was out the other end.