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Patsie and her Mummy had been visiting Grandma. Grandma
only lived three streets away, so they walked there, Mummy pushing baby Ben in the stroller and Patsie walking
alongside, her precious toy lamb, 'Baa-Baa' tucked under her arm.
They'd had a lovely afternoon, enjoyed Grandma's hot scones and listened
to a favourite story out of one of Gran's really old books. Patsie was only 4 years old so she couldn't read yet... but she
LOVED to listen to the stories.
As they walked home, Mummy pointed to some big grey clouds in the distance... "Looks like
it's going to rain tonight, Patsie," she said... and sure enough, just as they reached home, big spots of
rain started to
fall.
They hurried inside and soon Patsie and Ben were in a warm bath.
Then they sat by the fire in their pyjamas, waiting for Daddy to come to come home. After they'd all had tea together and it
was bedtime, Daddy said, "Come on Patsie, get Baa-Baa and I'll tuck you into bed."
"Where IS Baa-Baa?" wailed Patsie. They looked everywhere
but there was no little lamb.
Mummy rang Grandma to see if Baa-Baa was there, but Gran remembered
giving the lamb to Patsie as they left the house. "We must have dropped him on the way home," said Mummy,
"now off to bed."
But Patsie cried and cried....how could she sleep tonight, knowing
Baa-Baa was out there in the cold and rain... she MUST find him! So she climbed out of bed and went to Daddy who
was watching the football on TV. "Please, Daddy," she pleaded, "I just can't go to sleep. PLEASE
let's go and look for Baa-Baa." So Daddy, who knew how much Patsie loved her little lamb, got their raincoats
 and boots
out, and a big torch. Carrying Patsie under one arm and holding an umbrella in the other hand,... out into the
dark, wet night they went.
Patsie cuddled up to her father under the big umbrella as his strong torch searched the
footpaths and bushes. Patsie thought she would never see Baa-Baa again, until suddenly, as they rounded a corner,
Daddy's torch light
showed a very soggy toy lamb, caught on a prickly bush.
"Baa-Baa," cried Patsie and she reached out to grab him.
How glad she was to hold him again, and when they got home, Mummy dried him with the hair-dryer.
So it was a very tired Patsie who finally curled up in her warm bed
that night with her precious lamb in her arms.
You know, Jesus told a story like that... about a lamb who strayed away and was lost, and
how the Good Shepherd left all the other sheep and went into dangerous and risky places to find the lamb and bring
him home.
The Good Shepherd really cared about the little lost lamb and thought
that he was worth saving!
Jesus is our Good Shepherd and He really cares about
each one of us and He thinks we are worth saving too.
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