Meeting us right where we are.

I feel like my last post was a little .. "hard". It made it seem like horses are difficult to connect with; they peek into your soul and judge, when in fact, horses are the least judgemental of all!

When you meet a horse, they don't see the colour of your skin, they don't really care about your past or how you got to be the way you are today. They don't care if you did your hair that day or if you have the coolest clothes. Their friendship transcends all boundaries. They meet you where you are.

I see a shimmery reflection of God in this way. God always meets us right where we are, as we are. We do not have to make up extravagant stories about our past or try to explain why we are the way we are, we don't have to worry about all the stereotypes that come with race, age, gender, health, status or wealth. We just get to be honest and be present. 

So, although a short post in length, millions of miles in depth! Oh to be as gracious as a horse towards the people God has placed around us. Let's learn from the horse and meet people where they are at. Let's take captive our judgemental thoughts, for we have no idea what that person may be walking through. 

Horses don't lie.

A friend sent me a link to an article on horses used in psychotherapy. I feel re-inspired! It got me to thinking about what I appreciate most about horses; the way they can teach us about ourselves. 

Horses are honest to a fault.  You cannot “fake” your way around them.  They immediately put up a mirror and give us a clear reflection of who we are, if we are willing to journey there. Amongst the herd everyone is very clear on where they stand and they are able to communicate clearly and effectively with each other. There is no pretending or whispering behind each other’s backs; what you see is what you get. You can put on a big show and act as tough as you like, but they can read you like a book. This is part of what makes them the best teachers – they do not lie. 

Horses inspire honesty of ourselves and humility of character. 

I love working with people as they work with horses. In order to learn and succeed with them you really need to be willing to drop any pretence and admit that you do not, infact, have it all together. Surprising for us all to learn about each other, I know!

Funny, isn’t that exactly the place God can teach us the most as well! I always find that when I am placed in a moment of humility (often by circumstance; oh that one day I would be able to just put myself there!) and surrender, it is there that God can meet with me and bring the greatest change and renewal in my life.

Let’s be people of humility and honesty! Bringing ourselves openly and expectantly before God to do a mighty work in us; making us better and enabling us to reach out to those around us.

A horse knows. He knows if you know. He knows if you don't know

Ray Hunt

Patience is a virtue.

I have been waiting to write my first post for a long time! I felt like it should be all done in order and the first one had to be a proper introductory post, whatever that means. But I still have not come up with a brilliant way to do that; so I shall just jump right in! Enjoy the verbose chaos that may ensue. 

 I had thought I was doing devotions for the staff this week, so spent my time in the dog park thinking about what I should speak on. The word I could not get out of my head was PATIENCE! Naturally I started thinking about horse training (this happens often) and what God has taught me about Himself and myself through the whole ongoing experience. 

Horses have been a huge tool that I believe God has used to help me develop patience. When training horses pressure is used. So, say I am teaching my horse to put her head down, I would put pressure with my fingertips on her poll, and then WAIT. At first try you have no idea how long you should wait and the longer the horse resists the more you start doubting. You begin to doubt if this is going to work, and then you begin doubting if anything you had been doing has actually worked and THEN you even begin to doubt yourself. 

The only reason I can wait calmly for so long now; not worrying if it will turn out right or what other people around me are thinking, is because I know what is coming! I KNOW what is coming! It’s “the give”…. where the horse stops resisting and gives to the pressure. For me, that is the best moment in working with a horse. 

On a much larger scale, in life as a Christian, I KNOW what is coming! The bible tells us of the HOPE we have in Jesus Christ; our faith is our assurance of a good reward. We know who wins the battle in the end! Despite our circumstances, we know who has overcome the world and all it’s evil! God is developing our patience and our faith through trails, circumstance and the people around us. 

When I first started working with horses, I would get tired of waiting and start trying all other disasterous kinds of things; some detrimental and even damaging. How often in life do we do this! Instead of confidently waiting on our God and allowing Him to build our confidence, we flounder around trying to fix everything ourselves and plan our lives out perfectly. 

Patience, I feel, sometimes is misconstrued. It is made out to be a passive, quite type of quality. I think God intends it to be alive! The patience I am talking about is a CONFIDENT and STRONG patience! Waiting in EXPECTATION!  

We CAN wait confidently and with great hope and expectation, because we KNOW what is coming!