Hello friends!  I pray that you have had a wonderful couple of weeks, as have I.  God’s been challenging me in new and exciting ways, as I continue this journey of drawing closer to Him.  I’m excited to share these new insights with you over the next few weeks, but God is still growing them in me.  So, today, instead of going terribly deep, I thought I’d share a simple, yet deeply profound discovery.  I pray it blesses you.

 This discovery started a couple of weeks ago when I was fretting (I do this way too much, don’t you!)  I had the children’s sermon in church.  I worry every time I have it because, first, I want to share something that will impact these children and perhaps give them a clear memory that God will use in their lives, and second, I want to remind the adults in the congregation of the simple, yet profound, joys that God shares with us.  These building blocks are so important.  I feel sometimes we lose track of them as we get older, and being reminded of them is a gift.   So, I feel a deep obligation to speak what God would have me speak.  In other words, I put a lot of unneeded pressure on myself.  I usually try to do an object lesson and have something to give the kids that reminds them of that lesson; however, after a long hard week, Saturday arrived and I still had no idea what I was going to teach about.

I was so tired—as I have been frequently lately—and my husband, daughter, and I were grabbing a quick bite to eat out because I didn’t want to cook.  (On a side note, my husband has taken over the cooking this week because I’m still feeling very tired.  I have to brag on him and how good he is to me.  He works the evening shift and isn’t home when we have supper, but he’s put things in the crockpot, pre-cooked meat, and even purchased all our groceries this week!  I am one blessed woman!)  When I shared my dilemma, Mattie, my sweet daughter who is incredibly horse crazy, piped up: “You could teach about Muley!”  Muley is a horse her Papa is giving her at the beginning of summer break.  I laughed because I knew she was going to say this.  We don’t go a single day without at least 15 questions about her new horse.  My response to her suggestion: “Mattie, I know you love Muley, but how can I share about God through that?”

Isn’t it so amazing how God works?  Jason said, “I’m sure you can think of something that horses do that you can use to teach the kids about God.”  I paused, and asked God, “What do you want me to say Lord?”  I immediately got the picture of an old rickety bridge not far from my childhood home, and a memory surfaced.

When I was young, not much older than my daughter is now, I used to ride my horse Chata down the road by our home.  About two miles down this road was a very old bridge.  The bridge was low to the water and often when it rained the water would wash over the top of it.  This made holes in it where the cement and gravel had washed away, and you could see the creek beneath.

One afternoon in the spring I was riding Chata, and we came upon this bridge.  The water was up, but it wasn’t rushing.  It was more like a gentle stream over the top of the road.  We’d been here often enough that I knew where to cross to avoid any washed out portions of the bridge.  I clucked at Chata, but she balked.   I couldn’t get her to go through the water.   After a couple attempts, I got off her back and walked her across the creek—getting myself wet in the process, but earning her trust.  We came back to that creek many more times as I got older, and she never balked again.  She trusted that I knew where to lead her and she would be safe.

I once asked my dad why horses feared water like they do.  He explained that horses have little to no depth perception.  A horse can see the water, but it can’t see how deep it is.  So, while I could see that the water was only a couple of inches deep and not dangerous, she couldn’t.  She didn’t know that she’d be safe until I got off  her back and led her through her trial.

God whispered, “That just like you.”  Immediately I saw the world through Chata’s eyes.  With God as my rider, guiding me through the crags and snares of life, I’ve learned to trust His design.  But, oh, how many times have I balked.  I come across a trial, and I can’t see the depth of it.  I can’t tell if I’ll make it through to the other side, or if it will swallow me whole.  But, God can.  He knows where the holes are.  He knows how deep it is and how long I’ll be in it.  I just have to learn to trust him—like Chata learned to trust me.  How many times has He climbed out of the saddle to walk beside me and coax me through life?  How many times have I slowed a blessing because of my fear and unbelief?  I need to completely surrender control to my Rider, and trust that He will keep me safe.

Amazing.  God always has a plan.  It’s a blessing to have a horse-crazy daughter after all.  The neatest thing is that I remembered that my sweet Chata, who passed away my freshman year in college, is the grandmother to Mattie’s Muley.  How precious is our God.  Things have a way of coming full circle.  The blessings from the Lord are immense and beyond my understanding.

Lord, thank you for giving me such wonderful reminders of who You are.  Thank you for being a faithful friend and rider. I surrender control to You and trust that, even when I don’t know the outcome, You do.  You give me so much more than I deserve.  I love You.   Amen.

Staying Alert in Christ,

Megan

Playlist:

“You Lead” Jamie Grace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFmSzL2ppvg

“Keep Making Me” Sidewalk Prophets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGkmPeVpBbI

“Speak Life”  Toby Mac http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeBv9r92VQ0

“Love Take Me Over” Steven Curtis Chapin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8DiZhNVu1I