I hadn’t been an adult for very long when a guy in college tried to convince me I was crazy.

Immature? Yes.

Strung out on ephedra? Yes.

Crazy? No.

Not in the way he meant it.

But this is when I first noticed a theme that would carry throughout my life, one leveled at not just me, but nearly all women.

At some point, we’re referred to as either the crazy ex-girlfriend, crazy ex-wife, crazy driver, or the crazy cat lady.

Before long, we start saying it ourselves. I’m so crazy.

Do you say this to yourself?

~

At a ladies’ convention, I thought the speaker was going to tell about shepherds anointing sheep with oil to keep critters out of their ears.

I’d heard that one before.

But she went on to tell what happens if a bug burrows all the way into the sheep’s ear.

Do you know?

It goes crazy.

She explained that if those devil bugs got past the ears into the brain, they’d burrow in and drive the poor animal completely mad.

So mad, in fact, the sheep would do the unthinkable: run from the shepherd and the herd until it was utterly lost.

~

You may remember Jesus telling a story about a single lost sheep, one He left all the healthy, happy ones for.

He went after the one running from what was inside her head.

I think that sheep’s name was Ewe.

Ewe felt like a mess of issues. Surely no doctor could figure her out, and she didn’t have the strength for trial and error.

She was lonely, but wanted to be left alone.

She was exhausted, but couldn’t sleep.

She was empty, but nothing satisfied her.

Depression laced with anxiety made Ewe just want out.

So Ewe became hopeless and withdrew to silence—except, there’s no such thing as silence.

Those bugs overwhelmed her thoughts, driving her farther than she meant to go.

Jesus said the Kind Shepherd knew exactly where she was and what was eating her. He was coming to get her.

He didn’t even ask her to walk back in her own strength; He lifted her and carried her home.

I used to think that story was about no one being left behind, and it may be, but what happened to her when she got home?

Did Jesus heal Ewe?

Because we can find our way home and still be very lost.

I think that’s just the beginning of the story, being found.

Being taken home means so much more.

It means she was restored to family, to others like her who could surround her and encourage her because, after all, Jesus said they weren’t lost.

I think this is a story about the importance of community as part of our healing process.

We need each other.

It’s severely tempting to isolate ourselves and listen to the bug in our ear tell us we’re doomed beyond hope, but when we choose good company to serve with or hang out with or perform with, it gets harder and harder to hear the voice of what’s eating us from the inside.

Jesus found His lost sheep and brought her home, because a little alone time is healthy, but isolation erodes our spirit.

You’re not losing your mind. Stop telling yourself that.

You’re not even waiting to be found. You’re being found right now.

The only one who lost you, was you.

 ~

 

---

I am the LORD your God

who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you, Don’t be afraid; I will help you.

~ Isaiah 41:13

---

He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture,

the sheep under His care.

Today, if only you would listen to His voice…

~ Psalm 95:7

---