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Posts tagged ‘Training’

Trust me Moses!

          Sometimes, trust is the only thing that stands between us, and the life we were meant to live.  Or a stubborn streak keeps us from seeing what God has for us. Even worse, rebellion blocks our view, when what is waiting for us is not only what we need, but what we want.Moses happy herd

          We just fought our way through three days in a desert of distrust…Moses and me…my dad…the owners of Sycamore Valley Ranch, a couple of friends, a new vet, a vet tech, a fellow boarder and then there were the well-wishers and YouTube trainers…and count on it, this “horse tale” will preach!

          It all started with an opportunity to move our horses closer to home. The decision to leave an Moses Ranchamazing ranch was difficult enough, without Moses making the most of every opportunity to stay.  But, divine encounters, are often unexpected…and interruptions, in our normal routines, almost always tell us more about ourselves than our momentary circumstances ever could.

          Moses has never had trailer trouble, as far as we know. When we went to get our foster horse, on a cold and rainy day in March, he was Moses on trailer 2ready for a ride. So it never even occurred to us what we were going to encounter, or how his resistance would cause us to question the bigger message in the mess. Much like his namesake, our Moses did not react the same way twice.

          In Exodus 17, God told the original Moses to “strike” a rock in order to get water. And, he did. But, flip over to Numbers 20 when God tells Moses to “speak” to the rock and, we find out, he didn’t. His willful disobedience was one of the worst things that could have happened to him. Continue into the book of Deuteronomy and we discover that Moses got to see The Promised Land, but he never got to put his foot in it. Forty years in the desert and a lack of trust, stubbornness, or all out rebellion kept his feet firmly planted in the wilderness.


And that brings us back to our Moses. His feet were planted right outside the horse trailer where I threatened many times to leave him. He had watched his brother, Gideon, get on the trailer and head for Moses and trailerhome. Shadow, Star and Judah all jumped right on. But, Moses, well, he was having none of it. If you’re a horse person, I can almost hear you saying, “I’ve never seen a horse I couldn’t load onto a trailer.” We had those same discussions. Pressure/release, endless lunging, Join Up, small trailer, large trailer, withholding and reward, making the wrong thing hard, the right thing easy, and I could keep going. It didn’t work with Moses. His mind was made up. Despite visual signs of depression, due to being separated from his herd, he wouldn’t go.

          I don’t doubt there might have been some fear associated with the situation. My Dad jokes that Moses saw the others leave on the trailer and not come back, so he wasn’t about to get on and go. But, what I saw was an obstinate, determined, rebellious, willful, disobedient horse that is normally gentle, Moses defiantwell-mannered, and the first to meet you in the pasture. So, why would this happen? We all asked ourselves that more than once during the time it took to bring this bad boy back around to our way of thinking.

          And, yes, we prayed. We rebuked. We laid hands on his self-inflicted injuries. Rebellion can be very painful. In the end, God answered our prayers. Moses didn’t have a change of heart and hop on the trailer, like we all hoped. But, God did send a compassionate, caring, veterinarian to help us and to help Moses. How do we know God sent him? Well, maybe it’s because he just happened to be coming to see another horse at the exact time we ran out of strength, energy and determination.  The Doc offered to give Moses a small injection of sleepy meds, like they often use to load race horses, but even then, it still took six of us to hoist Moses’ 835-pound body up into the trailer.

          The medication wore off quickly.  Moses enjoyed a little “Scooby Snack” on his way home and, when Moses herd runninghe stepped off the trailer 35 minutes later… there was his family… his herd…running to meet him.

          So many times, during the stress, the frustration, the 90-degree heat, the “what are we going to do next” mode, we kept trying to tell him, “Moses, if you only knew what was waiting for you, you would go.”

          And, that’s where I think we are most of the time. We’re afraid to trust, so we just go with stubborn.  We put our feet down and refuse to budge when God is trying to lead us.  But, willful disobedience and rebellion have to be dealt with if we really want the best that God has for us. It’s so easy to plant our feet in a comfort zone, or fear what is out of sight, when, what is up ahead is so much better than anything we could ever obtain on our own. I suspect God also says to us, “If you only knew what was waiting for you, you would go.”

          I’ve heard two messages on endurance since all this happened and one message on how I need to trust. So, trust me, Moses, I’m wide-awake and listening!Moses in grass

Is there some area of your life you are refusing to surrender?

Do you feel afraid, stubborn or rebellious?

Moses on back

It’s okay, God is amazingly patient.

But, the sooner you come around to his way of thinking, the better off you will be!!

Just trust Him. 

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. —Psalm 20:7

 

Trust in the lord and do good;

dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. —Psalm 37:3

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make your paths straight.” —Proverbs 3:5-6

© Copyright 2015, KeziahCarrie.  All Rights Reserve

 

 

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Momma’s Day

What do you remember about your mom that makes you smile? 

If there are no wonderful memories of your mom, what woman most impacted your life?          

            The summer before kindergarten my mom would make me take a nap every afternoon.  I think all kids probably hate the idea of a nap, having to stop playing and be still for a while. But I remember the windows being open in the house and the fan blowing on my hair and face.  I slept solid and sound and though I didn’t want to lay down at first, I sure didn’t want to get up later.  It felt so good.  It felt so safe, so secure and so relaxing.  Just knowing my mom was in the other room preparing dinner, doing laundry and cleaning up the house made me feel like everything was right with the world. 

            In my mind, she was a Master Chef when it came to preparing picnic lunches.  She always made sandwiches with thick slices of ham.  She included potato chips, boiled eggs, and Hostess chocolate cupcakes with the cream filling.  Sometimes she would even ice down a six-pack of those little bottles of cokes.  It would have been easier for her if we had just stopped for lunch.  But money was tight, there wasn’t a McDonald’s on every corner and it couldn’t have compared with the cooler.  

            I was a terribly picky eater, which drove my dad crazy, but my mom would sneak plain hamburgers to me, before my dad got home, so I would at least eat something.  It’s funny as I look back on it; I hated when she would call us every morning for breakfast.  I got so tired of eating eggs and bacon, gravy and homemade biscuits.  Now I only wish I could eat that way again. Saturdays were homemade pancakes and many Sundays she served stove top oatmeal with plenty of sugar.  I could go on and on about white beans, cornbread and fried chicken…that was fine food even for a finicky eater.           

            There were many times she cared for me when I was sick, injured or nursing a broken heart.  And she made many sacrifices for my sisters and me.  It’s easier to see all that she gave up, now that I’m a mom, too. I know even more the things I did not do for her the times I took her for granted and the times I didn’t help her when I could have.  But she allowed me to be a kid and didn’t expect too much of me.  I try to remember that when I get angry with my own children for not helping out.   I know she did without so we could have things; and I know she worked really hard to make us clothes and help us get through school.  I thank God for choosing her to be my mom and for giving her the strength to keep going when I know there had to have been many times when she just wanted to quit.  I am grateful for her discipline (all of which I needed) and for loving me when the punishment was over. 

            My mom frequently quoted the verse in Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” She was the one who took us to church.  I knew, even as a young child, that God had a hold of my heart.  But there would be many tumultuous years before I would completely choose to follow Him.  I know there were times when she thought I had lost my way…but that verse from Proverbs is continuously proven true in my life.  God knows we are going to stray, especially as teenagers and young adults.  But He also knows that–with the right foundation, when we are older and better able to understand– we will be back. 

          My mom tells me I’m a giving person; but I know I wasn’t born that way.  In fact, as I watch my own children, I am often reminded that we do not come into this world civilized.  We have to be trained.  I spent years living a self-centered, selfish lifestyle, thinking I knew more than my mother did.  If I am a giving person now, it is only because she continued to teach me.     

          The world tries to teach us that the material things are what really matter.  We need to be skinny, young, pretty and have more stuff in order to be happy.  But true happiness is often found in the simple things, the things we remember. 

          Just ask a mom, any mom.  She will most likely tell you that true beauty is not found by looking in the mirror…but by looking inside yourself to see who you really are.  

She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her;

“Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Honor her for all that her hands have done,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31: 27-31   

Happy Momma’s Day ladies

Take time to honor a woman you love!  

🙂

 

© Copyright 2011, KeziahCarrie.  All Rights Reserved

 

 

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