Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I love these late spring days.
Oh, my goodness, these breezy, break days remind me of so many times I would go horseback riding – great memories they were of me being on my feet, of me being on a horse!
I had one horse, named Cheyenne, who really threw his weight around with the other horses. Out in the pasture he was nasty and disobedient. Of course, the other horses, when out in the field, were always very wary of him, keeping their distance. There is a real pecking order in a horse herd, and Cheyenne would pick on them at the feed trough. He’d lay back his ears, flare his nostrils, and snap at them to keep them away from his oats. He was the tyrant of the pasture. But when he came in from the field and I bridled and saddled him up properly -- I mean with a double snaffle bit, plus a martingale and a good, tight tie down (those are all leather straps to make a horse hold his head low), well guess what: Cheyenne was smooth as silk to ride; obedient, responsive, and alert -- he was a dream.
Now here’s the thing: I don’t think he was all that in love with me, his rider, at least not at first. He just responded to the restraints. Those tie downs and that martingale forced him to keep his head down; and with that bit in his mouth he knew who the boss was, who was in control. As a result, he listened to my commands and he obeyed.
Now fast-forward a few decades. Cheyenne is long gone and me in this wheelchair, well, horseback riding is a thing of the past. But not long ago I happened to be with a friend, looking out over a pasture where there was a small herd of horses. My friend saw one horse kick up his heels and race, tossing his mane and his head – it really was kind of beautiful. And so my friend wistfully remarked, “See that horse? That’s me. If I were a horse, that’s what I’d be doing.” I was silent for a moment. Sitting there in my wheelchair, I thought back on the days when I would ride horses like that one, mares and geldings that I had to harness in a martingale and tie down. So I said with a sigh, “You know, I think I’d rather be the horse with the saddle and the girth, the bit and the cinch, the reins and the whip and maybe even the tie down to keep my head low.”
My friend gave me a funny look. “Why would you want all that stuff on you?” “Well,” I said, “Because I know me. I know how unruly I can be, and how disobedient I could be if given half the chance. And so I look at this wheelchair as a bit and a bridle and a saddle with a tight girth. I need this restraint. Obviously, God knows I need the restraints. But I understand one thing: the hardship reminds me of who is boss,” I said with kind of a wry smile.
We stood there for quite some time, admiring the colts and mares and the geldings; feeling the breeze and the warm day. I thought about my horse from the old days and offered up one more observation to my friend standing there by the fence. I said, “You know, horses who get saddled up win ribbons.” We both laughed and I think my friend got the point. So friend whatever hardship God has saddled you with today, don’t kick against the restraints. Like it says in Acts chapter 26 God even tells Saul to stop kicking against the traces (that is, the harness). Because remember, friend, you’re in training. So keep your head low; that is, keep a lowly spirit. Because there is a blue ribbon waiting for you and a Master to be obeyed who will one day say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
© Joni and Friends, 2013
Compliments of Joni and Friends
PO Box 3333 Agoura Hills, CA 91376