If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.
Benjamin Franklin
“I have a going away present for you,” My friend told me during our move to Tennessee. I stopped by her house with my SUV loaded down. We would pull out for the last time in just a few hours. She took me out to the garage, where her saddle and bridle sat in pristine condition. She said, “I want you to have this.” I stuttered, “But I don’t even have a horse yet or a place to put one.” “I know.” She continued, “But you will. I recognize the look in your eyes. Besides, I am eighty years old, and I know that I will no longer be using this saddle. I want it to go to someone who always keeps it and loves the ride as much as I did.”
As the years passed, I would look at the saddle my friend gave me. Her saddle and my childhood saddle sat out in the shop, going unused year after year. I never had a real plan for horses again, although I was hoping they would fall in my lap. However, I heard somewhere – don’t ever sell your saddle. So, I kept them.
I loved everything about horses; the nickers and the smell gripped me the most. I would catch myself driving past a barn or pasture full of horses and think – if only I could walk up to them and bury my hands in their mane one more time. Without realizing it, God saw my quiet desire.
It was the fall of last year. I started a new Bible study with a group of ladies I had never met. It was friendship at first visit. We all laughed and shared our stories together. One lady heard that I loved horses and told me how she and her husband owned horses. She invited me out to visit anytime I wanted. I jumped at the opportunity and quickly realized they lived right down the road from us. That was just a coincidence (wink).
The first step in their barn covered my senses, and listening to the movement of the horses took me back to my girlhood days. Thus began a friendship and regular outings with my girls to the barn. They, too, were captivated.
It is never a supply problem. It is a capacity problem.
Dream BIG
Some things cling to your soul and won’t let go, no matter how many years pass. I couldn’t see a way into a world I knew nothing about anymore, but I was determined to figure it out. Climbing the stairs in my home, I heard the Lord speak, “You’re wanting something you are not prepared for. Start preparing.” I knew what I had to do. Stakes went up for fencing, saddles got oiled, tack was purchased, and lessons began for my girls.
We were headed to the barn one evening to see the horses. Unexpectedly, my friend said, “I left Frenchie saddled in her stall just in case you wanted to ride.” It had been twenty-five years since I put a foot in the stirrup, yet it felt like yesterday. I turned Frenchie and rode a few yards. Before I knew it, I was loping circles again.
To hear the sound of leather underneath my seat and feel the strength of a horse between the reins quickly rekindled a passion I thought had died. Tears rolled down my face as I drove home that evening. God had taken notice of a longing in my eyes that I had never voiced. He knew all it would take was one ride to spark the courage to move into a long-forgotten dream. God never sees us as finished. As long as we keep asking, He will keep giving vision.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams
Eleanor Roosevelt
Purchase both Home Sweet Home Books I and II personally from me or locally at the Book Inn, Heaven’s Nectar or on Amazon!
Book Three in the Home Sweet Home series releases October 2023!
Holding tightly to my rekindled passion, with no real direction on how I would get there, I continued pursuing my ambition in whatever fashion I could find. During this time, my father was invited to speak at a rodeo camp, which I found timely. I concluded God had his number, too.
Seeing his cowboy hat where it belonged rather than on the shelf collecting dust only spurred the family into our support of horses again.
He was the guest speaker at the camp and rode each day with the kids. Something happens when you get your hands dirty with those around you. Watching kids find the same love for these animals as he found many years ago must have touched his heart somehow. “I knew the moment I threw a leg over the saddle,” he said.
There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.
Winston Churchill
Within the next two months, corrals went up, and six horses found a new home. His response was short, “I have a new generation to teach. Who will teach them about this way of life if I don’t.” Dad knew the dangers and pitfalls of horse ownership better than anyone; he wouldn’t let my sister or me go at it alone.
A few weeks ago, I spent a few days with my folks to see firsthand the new venture that graced our presence. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. To lead my kids around on a horse was surreal. I could feel the horses’ breath against my arm. It made me think he wanted to rest his head in my pocket. Watching my saddle come to life again and hearing the sound of leather as it landed on the horse’s back was like walking back in time, only better.
I listened to my dad teach the grandkids lessons like he did my sister and me all those years ago. As the day ended, I saw my kids handing handfuls of hay to their newfound friends. The crunch between the horses’ teeth was a sound I didn’t want to miss. Laughter soaring above the horse’s nickers collapsed in a peaceful serenade as I enjoyed the tune.
Having a front-row seat as four young horse colts learned early lessons from my dad made me realize the breaking pen would never be for me, yet my sister found ease as she worked right along beside him.
There is something different about life from the seat of a horse. Life turns differently. It feels different; best of all, it sounds different. Looking down their neck to watch your horses’ ears will tell you more than many sermons preached. Anticipating your horse’s movement will teach you how to answer life’s tough choices, and learning to love the ride will teach you that not all places are smooth – but all are passable.
Sometimes, all a dream needs is a little saddle butter.
Thou art coming to the King,
John Newton
Large petitions with thee bring,
For His grace and power are such,
None could ever ask too much.
The horse paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing. He does not shy away from the sword. Job 39:21-22
Subscribe and receive my latest posts and monthly newsletter straight to your inbox!
