 Familiar with the book The Horse Whisperer? Written by Nicholas Evans, it’s the story of teenaged Grace and her beloved horse Pilgrim. She’s riding one snowy morning when an 18-wheeler truck slides on ice and crashes into them. It’s a horrific accident: Grace loses a leg, and Pilgrim is so terrorized that he won’t allow anyone near him—not even Grace. The former inseparable horse and rider both live in fear after the trauma, trust having been destroyed. Grace’s parents have given up on Pilgrim when they hear of a unique trainer, Tom, who’s called a “horse whisper.” In a leap of faith, they decide to give Pilgrim one last chance. At his ranch, Tom works with Pilgrim to find healing not just for the horse, but for Grace, also. There’s a fascinating scene which describes the final treatment Pilgrim must go through to learn to trust Grace again. It’s brutal to read; you suffer right along with Grace. I’ll quote from the story as best I can so that you get a picture of what the treatment entails… The subterfuge (of Pilgrim) made (Tom) feel bad, knowing what was to come and how the trust he’d built with the horse would now have to be broken before it could be restored…. Pilgrim was covered in sweat…until finally the horse crashed down on his knees and stayed down…Again (Pilgrim) fought for a long time. But at last, slowly, he keeled over on his side and lay his head on the sand and was still. It seemed a total, humiliating surrender. “Okay Grace,” Tom said. “I want you to stroke him. I want you to start with his hindquarters and rub and move his legs and feel him all over.”…Grace worked her way along him, smearing the dust on his heaving, sweaty sides, working his limbs to Tom’s instruction. At last she rubbed his neck and the wet, silky side of his head. “Okay. Now I (Tom) want you to stand on him.” With the tears streaming on her face, (Grace) stood frail, like a maimed soul, on the beaten flank of the creature she loved most in all the world and sobbed at her own brutality. “Why are you doing this? It’s so cruel and humiliating!” “You’re wrong. It’s not cruel. (Pilgrim) had a choice. He could have gone on making himself more and more unhappy. But what he chose to do instead was to go to the brink and look beyond…laying down like that…the worst thing he could imagine… The darkest hour comes before the dawn. That was Pilgrim’s darkest hour and he survived it. “Sometimes what seems like surrender isn’t surrender at all. It’s about what’s going on in our hearts. About seeing clearly the way life is and accepting it and being true to it, whatever the pain, because the pain of not being true to it is far, far greater.” And then (Grace) swung her leg and sat in the saddle…(Pilgrim) had come through. And she could feel (Pilgrim) beneath her, like he always used to be, giving and trusting and true. This surreal time of COVID 19 has placed possibly our greatest fears starkly before us: separation from loved ones; my death; loved ones’ deaths; separation from loved ones as they die…or their separation from me as I die. Yes, we Christians should face death much differently than those who have no assurance of heaven. But this pandemic is a demanding tyrant: It forces us to look at the face of death, daily. You see, we’re where Pilgrim was after the horrific accident. Because of the trauma of this time, we’re frightened. We’re insecure. And we’re hurting. If we’re tempted to blame God for these uncomfortable feelings, then we’re misguided: This is not about God being cruel. And like Pilgrim, we have a choice: We can willingly surrender to our God, knowing that our submission isn’t a negative experience because… It isn’t at all about God being cruel. It isn’t about our humiliation. it isn’t about losing. It isn’t about less. It isn’t giving up or giving in. Instead, this surrender is… repairing, rather than fracturing faithfully stepping forward, rather than retreat a laying down of our lives, rather than withdrawal in a lack of trust allowing God to move his loving hand over us in his true healing going to the brink to see life in its reality accepting life with the pain because of what lies beyond the pain …..and about what’s going on in our hearts I don’t know about you, but Craig and I are getting weary. Nothing feels remotely easy or familiar. Every trip out of the house presents challenges, takes twice as long, feels heavy with risk. I’m battling a low-level anger. I get impatient with people in a heartbeat. I’m just…tired. As in every painful time of my life, I know what I need to do. Surrender. Not to despair. Ultimately, not to the government or guidelines and especially not to our fears. Instead, we look at those fears. Realistically. Knowing we have a choice. And then we decide. Can you picture yourself laying your life down before God, allowing him to move his hand of healing all over you, infusing you with his healing and love? Craig and I choose surrender. Laying before him our will, our future, our very lives. Will you join us there?  |
| From Casting Crowns…listen to “Just Be Held” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIZitK6_IMQ&list=RDtIZitK6_IMQ&index=1 |
Since we can’t eat out, now’s the perfect time to eat better, get fit, and stay healthy. We’re quarantined! Who are we trying to impress? We have snacks, we have sweatpants – I say we use them! |