HORSE SENSE

Last Sunday after church, I stayed to talk to everyone both upstairs and down in fellowship hall, and outside in the parking lot. I love that time. Finally, everyone was dispersing into their cars and it was time to go. What should I do, I wondered. I don't really want to be alone, but it's me and you, Lord. Where should I go?

My mind and heart were full from the message on Abraham’s journey up the mountains of redemption. I rolled along reflecting on how my human reasoning can resist finding that ram in the thicket. Just as when Abraham was led up Mt. Moriah with his son Isaac, God still seeks obedience first, then comes blessing. And on that same mountain, Solomon later built the temple, and the Lord Jesus also laid down his life. Timeless lessons. Unchanging truth. Though the way is hard, God knows exactly what he’s doing. Throughout generations, He looks for those who will hear and obey, trust and follow.

Yes, life is a journey, and all our challenges are opportunities to see Him at work. I drove with the CD playing, singing and worshipping, just going with God. Sundays are wonderful days to commune with the Creator.

I passed fields of apple trees, already laden with harvest. I came upon one enormous sunflower on the side of the road. With its face bowed gently in the sun, it was as if it was bowing in reverence to its maker. Sunlight danced through treetops and my music played loudly. Corn fields and rolling hills, floral gardens and reservoirs. What a wonderful drive, soaking in the panaramic views of God's lush handiwork. I couldn't help but raise my hands and thank him for life. Sometimes I praise him through tears of sorrow, but I will trust my God to choose what’s best for me.

The day was so beautiful. I pulled in at the aqueduct and took a few great pictures of the waterfall. Then I stopped to get a tuna sandwich and headed to the Warren Center for a picnic by the lake. But when I got there, the parking area was cordoned off for a private event. Oh, I was a little disappointed, but drove on down the beautiful country road. Jesus, take the wheel! I sang at the top of my lungs.

Then, I saw the horse farm in Holliston. Oh yeah, what a perfect place to stop and watch the horses. I pulled off the road and parked facing a couple of long fenced running areas. I was listening to the praise CD and munching my tuna fish, when one dark quarter horse quickly captivated my attention.

Dallas, a fourteen-year-old, stands proudly at fifteen hands. His rich brown coat and flowing mane and tail were beautiful to watch as he darted back and forth in the corral. Clouds of dust were stirred up in his trail. I shut off the car and music and followed his every move. Clods of dirt were pealing out behind him as he raced by in full strength. The sound of his pounding hooves added to my delight as he thundered by. I stopped chewing. Wow, such strength! Such a force of nature wrapped up in the fury of a full grown horse. It is sheer elegance wrapped up in mighty muscle. It is the speed and grace and awesome beauty of the beast that takes my breath away.

Since I was a girl, I have always admired the beauty of a horse. Their eyes are so full of expression, whether warmth and quiet understanding, or sudden fear. They seem to understand with human compassion and hold such gentle wisdom.

The handsome head is adorned so perfectly with flowing mane, and with great legs leaping, muscles rippling, and long tail flying, I stand in awe. Responsive ears turn and twitch to detect everything around them. They hear and sense things far beyond our human capacity. They sniff the wind and feel the weather changing.

And yet, I’ve heard from trainers and friends that the mind of a horse is like a toddler. A great capacity for learning is there but so is a stubborn will. They will test you and quickly learn who’s boss. They will resist to get their own way. They will push you, buck you, and maybe stomp on your toes or surprise you with a rear kick if you don’t watch your step. Every horseman knows you have to respect the animal but you also have to be firm with him. It takes great patience and a lot of time.

So Dallas had my full attention. I could see his trainer far off to the right end of the corral. She was standing with her hands on her hips. She was apparently waiting for him. What was he thinking? Was he teasing her? He would run to her side then shake his head and turn and dart full speed straight into the corner, the farthest limit on the opposite side and come to a screeching stop just inches from the fence! What peculiar behavior, I thought. Is this outright rebellion?

Twice I watched her walk the full distance of the corral over to where he stood, now with his back toward her and his head up high. She came up behind him and I wondered if he was going to kick back. She was talking to him quietly. She didn’t take his reigns, she didn’t scold. She just turned and started walking back toward the barn. There was something so entertaining about it all. His antics seemed comical, but it seemed the trainer had good reason for frustration. The sun was hot. How long had this been going on? He turned his head all the way around and watched her go. He shook his head and beat his hooves on the ground. No, he was staying right where he was.

She waited. He stood his ground. He wasn’t ready to go in. No, his head was facing the next paddock where other horses ran. Maybe he wanted to be with them?

Time passed. The trainer began her long walk back to him. This time, she reached in her pocket and showed him a carrot. You could almost imagine what passed through his mind now. Oh, that does look good. Can I have it now? She tucked it back in her pocket and turned again. She started walking slowly back. His ears went up. He was watching with his head, but his body remained tucked up into that corner, as far left as he could possibly be.

She was walking slowly to the right end again. Finally, he turned around. Her hand was in that pocket. His appetite must have been triggered. He started moving, one step at a time. Then, a little faster, he quickly trotted up to her side and nuzzled the hand in the pocket. He knew she had a treat for him. They walked about ten feet more before she finally pulled it out, rewarding him for following.

Soon they were out of sight and she took his reigns and led him back into the barn. I resumed my lunch and thought about the stubborn ways I also act at times. What antics am I up to and with what patience does the Lord seek me out? Don’t I stomp and rant and rave? Don’t I rush into corners just like that brute beast? The Lord has sure rewards and there is safety and pleasure in his presence, but I resist him. I get something in my head that I just have to have. I want to be like other horses in the next paddock. I want to go where they’re going. The Lord waits and talks quietly, but do I listen?

Well, my curiosity got the best of me. I got out of the car and wandered into the barn to talk with that trainer. Her name is Kara and she’s a bank account manager by day. On weekends she comes out here to unwind and spend time with Dallas.

“Such antics,” I offered my sympathies. “You sure have a lot of patience,” I said.

“Oh, yes,” she laughed. “He’s full of it!” She had him tethered in the grooming stall now and she was clipping and cleaning his hooves.

With huge brown eyes, Dallas watched me, as though he knew I was talking about him. I was rubbing his head and scratching his long nose. “Are you a trouble-maker?” I asked him.

“Oh, you should have seen him yesterday,” Kara offered. “He was cast against that fence out there.”

I remembered learning about sheep getting cast down so they can’t get up. Their wool gets so heavy they literally roll over on their backs and need the shepherd to right them. “Do horses get cast?” I asked incredulously.

“Oh yeah,” she said. “They roll over on their backs to scratch against a wall or fence and their legs get wrapped around the posts. Then they can’t pull away and get back up.”

I imagined how hard it would be to pull up a horse. “What on earth do you do?”

“It takes a couple of us,” she said. “We have to get their legs untangled and help them roll over away from the corner, without getting kicked or hurt if we can help it.”

I always thought of horses as being so nimble and strong, so sure-footed and capable, but even they get stuck at times. This was the first I heard that horses can be as dumb as sheep and my thoughts galloped back to the shepherd’s love.

Oh Lord, I’m so glad you’re in my life! I may feel hemmed in by my circumstances at times. I may run and watch others galloping freely together through life’s broad pastures. I may be frustrated with fences or cast down against the walls. But you only ask for my trust. You wait for simple obedience, and then you are eager to bless. You’re there for me, committed to me, and you know my every need.

I had a great time talking at the stables that day. I met Maria, the barn manager, and heard about the stable owner. “It’s a passion,” she said, putting her finger on my favorite word. Kara even invited me back to take lessons, but I felt that I already had some good ones—the kind that come for free.

As I was leaving, I strolled back past all the stalls, reading the names of the show horses and admiring all their ribbons. I was coming away with a new appreciation for the trainer’s expertise and the patient love that goes into these glorious animals. Those ribbons should really hang on the trainers' jackets, I mused. They are so passionate about their horses--even though they do get tossed and kicked from time to time! And despite all their strength and ability, grace and beauty, the horses are truly helpless without them.

Just as the majestic horse needs a loving master, so do I.

How I thank you Lord, for loving me! Thank you for your unending patience and protective care! Thank you Lord that when I am cast down, you always know exactly what to do. ( I hope I don’t hurt you with my kicking in the process.) Thank you that when I challenge the limits, you handle me with kid gloves. Thank you that when I turn my back to you and not my face, you are so long-suffering.

And thank you most of all for the rewards of knowing you as my master. I am safe and happiest when I’m walking close to you.

I hopped back in my car and turned the CD back on. Where are we going now, Lord?