Snowflake hated the Shepherd.
He looked around at all the other sheep as they grazed happily in the pasture, as the Shepherd kept a watchful eye over all of them. The Shepherd was a tall man who was lean and sturdy. His eyes shone with intelligence
, and they were known to dart left and right at impossible speeds to ensure that all the Sheep were kept in line. The Shepherd also had a distinct voice that all the other sheep said they loved hearing. Sometimes, the Shepherd would even sing to them, strumming on a ukelele he carried everywhere. The sheep usually would sit in front of the Shepherd, baaing contentedly as they listened to the Shepherd.
Not Snowflake
No, Snowflake was savvy. He was independent and knew a lot better than any of the others. He would look with disgust as his fellow sheep would follow the Shepherd everywhere. Why didn’t they ever think for themselves? Didn’t they know that there was a world out there looking to be explored?
“Stupid Shepherd,” Snowflake muttered.
He wondered why he was in this silly pen in the first place. At that moment, Harry, another sheep, brushed past him.
“Watch where you are going, idiot,” Snowflake bleated angrily. Harry just gave him a puzzled look and moved on. “Yeah, you better walk away,” Snowflaked called after him.
Snowflake’s grouse with the Shepherd had been from as far back as he could remember.
Snowflake had always been something of a free spirit; with his beautiful body of wool and adorable eyes, Snowflake had been a star. He had always dreamed of exploring, and while the Shepherd took them places, he never let them look too closely at anything. There was a time they went through a twisted, winding path, and they came close to water. Snowflake had looked towards the shimmering water with he surface glinting such magnificent colors.
“I’m going to go take a look at the water,” Snowflake had said to Amy. She looked horrified. “We have to follow the Shepherd,” she said in response, worry etched all over her tiny little face. Snowflake brushed her off and went towards the water. As he approached, he saw, rising from the water’s surface, a grey structure. Below it, also rising, was what looked like a cave. The inside was dark with a hint of pink. Finally, white ivory plates with spaces between them also rose out of the water. The ivory plates had spaces between them. Snowflake was fascinated and wanted nothing more than to walk into the cave. Imagine the things he could find in there.
He made his way towards the water and as he closed in on the cave, he got a sense that it was living and breathing. Was the cave alive? Snowflake’s heart beat with eager anticipation and just a hint of danger. But, there as nothing to fear here, just places to be explored. As he was about to walk into the cave, climbing over the Ivory plates, he felt a hand grab his belly.
“Snowflake, NO!”
It was the Shepherd. Quick as wind, he had grabbed Snowflake and, with him, fled from the scene.
“Wait! Wait! I want to go in there!” Snowflake bleated at the top of his lungs “Don’t do this! I want to be free!”
The Shepherd carried Snowflake tenderly to the rest of the sheep and set him down gently. Then he fixed Snowflake with a piercing gaze. “Snowflake, that was a monster. You were about to be swallowed.”
LIAR! That was all Snowflake could think. That was a cool cave, but the stoic Shepherd didn’t understand the meaning of fun, and he probably thought it was a monster because he didn’t know what it was himself and just made the assumption.
Snowflake simply walked away then.
Another time, Snowflake has gotten hurt and was showing off his cool injury to Annabelle, who was nodding approvingly. It hurt, but everyone thought he was so cool and brave.
“How did it happen, Snowflake?” Harry had asked, then
“I got into a fight with a Dubrian,” Snowflake lied easily. “You were all asleep, even the Shepherd. But I fought it off all by myself.”
The Shepherd had shown up and bound Snowflake’s wound and had told the rest of the Sheep the truth: Snowflake had slipped while they were looking for pasture.
Everyone had a laugh at poor Snowflake while he seethed.
Snowflake had also tried to escape to the Shadowlands once. Once again, he had been thwarted by the Shepherd.
At that moment, the Shepherd came toward Snowflake with an armful of grass.
“Hey, Snowflake,” he said with a smile, “Ready to eat?”
Snowflake baaed
“Sure. Here you go.” The Shepherd set down the food and gave Snowflake a loving pat on the head, “You be good now.”
Snowflake huffed, then bent to eat his food. the grass was delicious, and Snowflake could not help the warmth in his heart as he chewed grudgingly.
Food, shelter, protection, Snowflake thought. “How foolish,” he muttered between bites. He could get all of those things himself if only the Shepherd would let him go.
He watched the Shepherd’s strong back as he went to talk to the other sheep.
He hated the Shepherd.
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2: 4)
Welcome back talebearer 🙂
Aren't we all like Snowflake in some way? Scheming, proud and seeking independence off the Master? Jesus, help us.
Thank you so much for this! It's a beautiful piece.