The Master Shearer

What a Computer Science Major can do on a farm is something that I’ve always wondered. It seems that even if I wanted to be of help, I wouldn’t know what I could do because of either lack of knowledge, skill, or a little of both! So, I was quite excited when I was given the opportunity to be able to be of some help.

It was the first or second night that I had been there, and I was sitting on a chair waiting for dinner or something, and it was at that time that my friend’s father came in and asked me if I wanted to help shear the Christmas trees. So, before I knew it I was handed a pair of snips and headed outside to a field.

Once he, his son, and I had made it to the field that we were going to work on, he started to explain exactly what we would be doing. Now, I’m pretty good at doing something where there is little room to mess up, but when it comes to judging if something looks right, especially if it’s something that can vary, I’m not exactly the best. So, here I am, with a simple assignment, take the centers out of these branches so the tree will go fuller. He said that he would help out behind us to catch what we missed.

So, we start snipping up these trees. We’re actually taking longer than what we needed to. That, and there is some objective judgment required to do this. Something about a “top whirl,” which I gather is the top most set of branches that contains the branch that points straight up. I’m suppose to figure out which one is going straight up, whether it’s too tall, or whether some other branch will get taller than that one.

As I’m trying to do this task this night, and the next day, I really begin to appreciate my friend’s father. I watch with admiration at the skill that he displays, and the judgment on the fly. I get told that “trees are more forgiving than computers” when I made a mistake about which one to trim, and I begin to see what they mean, and appreciate it!

I could not help but think of my Heavenly Father, who with tremendous skill and ability takes circumstances and events and applies them to my life in order to make me more perfect. I think about just as I had very little idea about how the tree should turn out, I have very little idea of why God allows the things that He does in my life. I don’t know how He will use those things.

As I watched my friend’s father, I was able to see a bit more of what to do, and what he looked for. The closer I get to God, and the more that I learn about Him, the more I will be able to see, not exactly what He has in store, but the pattern. I can catch glimpses of Him and His work, which helps to put more of my faith in Him and His work. I can only continue to pattern my life after the Master and let Him work His way with my life.