Lesson at the Sale Barn

Yesterday, I went to the sale barn in order to watch the weekly sheep and goat auction. I have some goats to sell, and I wanted to get all the paperwork filled out and also do some reconnaissance on the backing-up-a-trailer logistics in advance of the real deal. My mom, ever supportive, came along to show me the ropes.

It was early in the morning, and the farmers who were selling listened intently to the auctioneer, noting prices and weights in their small pocket notebooks. We watched several rounds of sheep come through and get sold in rapid succession, prices all good, farmers nodding along, until suddenly my mom sighed. 

"It's a shame," she said, "that they run them through so quickly. At least let us admire them for a while! All that hard work and care, gone just like that!"

At first, I smiled at her sentimentality. But then, as often happens when children consider their parent's words, I started to realize that... she's right. The farmers sitting in the stands had helped these sheep get born, cared for them intimately, and knew their different personalities. They treated any medical issues and looked in their eyes and checked their hooves and watched to make sure they were eating a carefully balanced diet. These sheep were the product of months and years of work, time, attention, and knowledgeable care. 

I suppose this is just one more aspect of bridging the divide. Knowing begets appreciation, which helps us to rightly order our values, and to recognize how we are all connected and dependent on one another. So yes, let us admire them! The occasional nods and murmurs of "good lambs" from those sitting in the sale barn is not quite enough. Let's give these sheep some attention, and tell the farmers that we value what they do, and we recognize their good work, and we appreciate it.


Psalm 65:9–13 (NRSV)
You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.

You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.

You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.



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