I brought Reecie to the barn, put her in a stall, and brushed her while we waited for Julie to arrive for my lesson.
We enjoyed the soft sounds of a peaceful summer evening at a horse barn as the flies droned, Reecie’s tail swished, and my brush glided over her smooth, glistening, summer coat.
Julie arrived for our lesson, but as I led Reecie from the stall, she bolted out and almost ran me over. For the next twenty minutes, or so, Julie and I worked on teaching Reecie to exit the stall quietly, without barging out.
I held Reecie’s lead rope and walked through the doorway first. With a whip pressed against her chest as a barrier, I signaled her to wait at the doorway until I said, “Walk.”
At Julie’s suggestion, sometimes I let Reecie step out with her front feet, said, “whoa” and made her wait before letting her walk out the rest of the way. Other times, Julie told me to let Reecie come part way out, then ask her to “back.” This taught Reecie she couldn’t anticipate what I wanted and act before I asked.
I imagined Reecie felt confined in the stall doorway, at first, and she might have wanted to leave that “trap” in a hurry. But that’s no excuse. Horses are NOT allowed to trample over people. She needed to learn to trust me to keep her safe as she entered, and exited, enclosed spaces.
In Reflection ~
Sometimes we feel like circumstances have us trapped, closed in, and like Reecie, we want to leave in a hurry too.
But God’s word says, “…you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard,” Isaiah 52:12 (NIV).
I’ve found this verse to be comforting…the very idea of God being in front of us, leading the way, AND behind us, protecting us from the world around us …. We have no need to feel trapped. Just like Reecie had no need to feel trapped when I led her from her stall. She only needed to be respectful of my person, my space, and obedient to my request to enter, and exit, the stall quietly.
Life WITH the LORD, being obedient to His leading, isn’t a trap either. Like my instructions to Reecie, His commands guide us in showing Him our respect, making good life choices, and to live peacefully, without trampling others.
paynefulponderings 