So, Daisy just got moved to a new pasture yesterday. I believe in horsey terms she’s now in “Fat Camp.” My husband refers to our new horse as “Chow Hound.” Come to think of it, every time I go to ride her, she and her pasture mate are chowing down on the round bale in the exact same place.
Recently, my trainer, Veronica, began to notice that Daisy was putting on a few extra pounds
and it was affecting her training sessions. (Not very becoming for her 1050 pound body) Veronica made the call to move her to a different area she lovingly referred to as the “piglet pasture.” Daisy’s getting a major reduction in hay and less feed in the “piglet pasture.” So, I guess Daisy
is a now member of Horsey Weight Watchers. She’s in for a treat. Well, maybe not.
Veronica sent me a video of Daisy’s first few moments in her new pasture. She was bucking and running around and having a blast! In fact, she looked like she was having a lot more fun and socializing with the other new horses beside her. She didn’t even seem like she was missing her round bale!
I love how Veronica saw a problem and dealt with it. She didn’t want Daisy to become a fat, lazy horse that just ate hay all day long in the same exact place. She’s working with Daisy and I to make us successful in the show ring. Veronica had more in mind for Daisy!
We all need people in our life who push us further than we would normally be pushed. Those are the people who celebrate us and want the very BEST in us. They’re asking the question “Where do you want to go and how can I help you get there?” They’re our horse trainers, our exercise instructors, our bosses, our friends, our pastors, our teachers, our counselors and our mentors. Hopefully, we are modeling this for people in our life as well!
Face it. We’ve all been in ruts in our life. We can’t seem to get away from that round bale in the pasture. It could be a bad job, a challenging relationship, unhealthy eating, a challenging addiction or even a bad habit like impatience, anger or complaining that seems so natural. Sometimes, these ruts are so comfortable we can’t imagine changing, even though we know we should!
I think God delights in pulling us out of our boring pastures for something more. He loves to give us the very best, not settling for what we often settle for. Where are you stuck? Where do you need God more than you think you do? Maybe, this summer is the summer of change. Just ask Daisy.
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” C. S. Lewis
Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.
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