Saturday 25 October 2014

My Giants have fur

On October 12 Our pastor spoke on Lessons in Conquest from Joshua 10 to 12.  It so related to my life!  I have had an particular issue that I have been struggling with for 10 years.  I just never seem to have victory over it.  It is a bizarre thing to struggle with.  I am addicted to selling and buying horses. I am not sure why it gives me such a rush but I love doing it.    It started because I have a very limited budget and very high expectations of what I want in a horse.   Joshua had to face Giants but the giants I face have fur.   Looking back I can see why I struggled so long without victory.  Basically even though I prayed about it I never really believed God could answer.   My prayers were more of a fierce desperate wishing followed by worry and scheming.   I still felt like it was a huge long shot that I would ever find the horse I was looking for.   I did the opposite of Joshua who acted in faith, listened to God's voice, lived in partnership with God, and prayed with imagination.

I was not kidding when I said this was a long road of mistakes. The first horse I bought was pretty but very stubborn so I sold him and tried to get another horse that was closer to my wish list.  But each horse I would get, after a little while, I would think that if I sold them I could trade up for something better. I did this in a frenzied fashion. I would look on kijiji and find something that was amazing that I just had to have.  However I had to sell the horse I had first.  I would list my horse and then wait not very patiently for it to sell.   I would worry that the horse I had seen and wanted and really believed was the only horse for me, would sell before my horse sold.   I am ashamed to say I did this roughly 10 times in 8 years. My husband was really grateful that I did not treat my men like my horses!  I liked the rush of buying a new horse but then I would crash in depression when I would realise the horse I thought was perfect was far from it.  Part of the problem was my expectations were completely unrealistic for the amount of money I had to work with.  The expectations themselves were not based in reality but on my girlish dreams and further amplified by my perfectionist personality.  Also I was not very logical when I was looking at a horse and in my desperate desire to finally find one that worked I would overlook serious problems.

The horse I bought last year was the worst mistake of them all. She was more money than any of the others and she was  one. She had a problem with bucking when you get on - like you were in a rodeo. I need a safe horse because I have already fallen on my head too many times and I can't fall off again. This horse was my worst nightmare and the people I bought it from would not take it back.   In the end I had to pretty much give it away. At this point I recognised that I had a problem and I really wanted to stop the cycle and just find a horse that was safe that I could keep for a long time. I also prayed about this and for the first time I really gave it to God and stopped worrying and stressing about it. God did not have much to work with because I had no money left for my next horse as I had lost it all on the night mare.  God being all powerful and all knowing was not stressed by my request for a horse.  In fact I think He was very relieved that I finally was giving it to Him.  He started working on pulling the strings to bring me the right horse for me despite of myself.  

There was a horse that I was boarding for someone else who wanted this horse to be shipped out to her in BC at the end of summer.  She was an older white mare and did not catch my attention because usually I go for the flashy, crazy horses.   Well, the owner decided that she was too old to ship such a long distance and decided to give her away to someone here.   The owner asked me to try her out and then put an ad on kijiji and find her a new home.   I tried her out and she was seriously the best horse I had ever ridden!  To think she had been in my backyard all summer!   She was so safe and obedient that I could ride her with my daughter who has Downs syndrome on as well.  I was enjoying riding when I was on her and it was peaceful and soothing.
 
I had some reservations however  because she was older and not the prettiest horse I have ever seen and usually buying young and pretty is high on my priority list.   But I asked God what He wanted me to do.   He impressed upon me that safety was the most important thing and having a horse I can trust.   It was vain of me to only want good looking horses that others would admire.  Who cares if others think the horse that just bucked you off  is good looking!   This time I was trying to live in partnership with God in regards to my horse search, instead of going off on my own schemes.  Fear of getting the wrong horse again was at first overwhelming but as I wrestled with what horse to get I just keep praying and asking God to help.  I did find that He eventually gave me freedom to act without fear right around the same time I finally got a hold of the idea that God administers all the resources of the land.  Finding me a great horse was not a hard task for Him.   Even helping me accept that what I originally wanted in a horse was not the best choice was not a hard task for him either!

So instead of living in fear and making a hasty decision I trusted God to meet my need and bring me a safe sane horse.  It was pretty cool that He arranged for the horse that I was considering to not be available to anyone else until I made up my mind.  I did not have to make a fast decision because no one else even knew she was available for free yet!   So I rode the older white mare many times and she was excellent every time.   She did not even spook at deer or partridges flying up in her face.   I prayed that God would help me look past her age and outward appearance and He totally answered.  She put on weight and looked much better and I started to really like her one blue eye.  God pointed out that her age is what makes her so reliable and perfect for me because I am no spring chicken either.  By the time I decided to keep her it was a "no brainer" because God had made it very clear to me that she was the one.  I am still in awe about how He found me a free horse that was better than all the other ones I bought and sold through the years.  Not only was the horse free but I did not even have to pay for trailering because she was already at my farm!  The little amount I got for the night mare horse was just enough to get the vet out to look after my new horse's teeth and shots.       

I have had her for 3 months now and I like her more every time I ride her.  I am so thankful to God for ending my horse search and freeing me from my trading addiction.  I do sometimes feel the same old urge to maybe upgrade and get a better horse but then I apologise to God and thank Him for the great horse I have.  I ask Him to continue to help me be content with the horse He gave me and not be such a picky perfectionist.   By the way, I called my new horse Eden and she is going to be part of my life for long time.

Friday 24 October 2014

Potluck and Praise

Last Sunday night I attended the pot luck and praise night at the church.  While we were eating we were asked to discuss a question about if we had noticed God's hand in our lives.  

God's hand prints are all over my life.  In fact the very food I had been blissfully eating at the potluck portion of the evening was an answer to prayer!  I am allergic to wheat and few other things like eggs, almonds and Lima Beans.  I don't feel too bad about having to avoid lima beans but the wheat is really hard to miss out on.  I was not looking forward to the pot luck as I imagined it would be a lot of dishes that looked fantastic and made my mouth water that I could not eat.   It is torture to walk by yummy things that people have prepared and not put them on my plate.  So before I went to the pot luck I prayed and ask God to help me with will power so that I would behave.   When I got there I discovered there were other people who are also gluten free and they had brought yummy food!   It is not half as hard to pass up gluten ladden dishes when there is lots of tasty stuff I can eat.   Thank you God for enabling me to not only stay gluten free but gluten free and still happy because that is a big deal!