Called?????

The title "Called?????" really shouldn't have question marks following it because we are all "Called" it's just that some of us are not listening, we are ignoring God or maybe we are in a rebellious stage or afraid. Any of those words fit where you are in life? O, you say, "but I'm not smart enough or that's not something that I am good at or, someone else can do it much better than I can and you are probably right but more on that later. When Carol and I started this ministry (I would have never dreamed of in trillion lifetimes that we'd be doing), I certainly felt like I had stepped into something that I had no knowledge of, not spiritual enough, or frankly strong enough to tackle this ginormas task. You can have empathy for me right, you have fought with those same feelings at some point in your life, or, you will, eventually. With the recent passing of two of the best partners Wild Hearts n Horses could ever have, Copper and Lacy, I thought to myself, we will never be able to replace those two servants because any other horse by comparison would pale in their mere shadows. With the need to find some additional horses Carol put an add on FB that we were looking for good older rideable horses for kids and adults who lacked experience. Carol explained in the add that we are a non-profit and that donating can be reflected on their taxes . It didn't take long before she got some instant messages with offers. Now, I'm a skeptic when it comes to people wanting to offload a horse because there just has to be something really wrong with that horse right? For a person that says, "I have a free horse, if you want her come take a look" kinda makes you wonder if the horse has some really bad habits like biting, running away or worse.....a buckin bronc. One of the first communications was from a girl who was going to college in May to get her masters degree. She said that she needed a home for her horse because she would not have time for him. Seems legit enough, right? She is currently boarding her horse in Nebraska. Carol made an appointment for us to meet her last Sunday so we could visit and find out if he would be a good fit for the ministry. So, we made the trek from Glenwood down highway 34 into Nebraska and the entire drive took like 15 minutes. As we arrived at the boarding place I thought to myself, ruhroh, this is a really nice place and she might not want us to have her horse because, we are not a fancy ranch by no means, why, we don't even have the barn completely done. Ashley greeted us and had already brought her horse to the front of the stable. I will have to say, I was relieved to see that the horse had his winter coat established because that told me he has been an outside horse unlike these champion horses that were in their indoor heated stables. He was black in color but in the right light I could see a tinge of red in his coat. His neatly trimmed bangs covered the only marking on him that was donned between his eyes. The white marking resembled a star with a tail. He was large and had a pretty good size belly. His main was trimmed and he had a long tail that had an abrupt even cut at the end. Ashley began to tell us about her horse and wanted us to have full disclosure. Ashley was very forthcoming that the horse had heaves. Heaves in a horse is much like a human with asthma. She said by telling us that she knew it could be a game stopper. Ashley had visited our Facebook page and website and said she became excited to find out that we are a Christian ministry. She also told me that she had come to know Jesus just 2 years ago. One day, we will have her come to a ranch event so she can tell her miracle story of how her and God met. Ashley put an English saddle on him and we headed for the arena. There is a garage door that separates the stables from the arena and a small walkway between them. Ashley said he doesn't like to walk through it, my guess, claustrophobic? I don't know. She said she backs him through instead.....odd. We made our way to the arena where the horse seemed to be struggling with the amount of other horses and riders that were enjoying the pleasures of riding indoors. He rared up a little and I backed away because I was in near to his shoulder. After he had settled Ashley took him out where he continued to struggle but not in a bad attitude way. He is a beautiful horse with a smooth glide because he is a Tennessee Walker. Ashley said she was uncomfortable having me ride him at that time so we made plans to meet on Wednesday. As we left the riding arena she had to back him through the walkway and then through the garage door. As Ashley and I talked she revealed something about the horse that really made me emotional. She said that he is very afraid of whips. Said, the presence of a whip makes him tremble with fear. She had only had him for 2 years and didn't know who had owned him prior. I think we all know why he trembles when he sees a whip, some jerk abused the poor creature. The story made me tear up and it reminded me of a talk that I had with a co-worker named Christian just prior to meeting Ashley and her horse. We had been talking about people who were damaged and wounded, Christian made this statement that will be forever in my heart, "the wounded become the healers". I turned to the horse and whispered, you are a healer. That's what horses do. It's a natural design by God to help people heal. So, Wednesday is here and it's time to see how this big creature handles in the arena. Ashley put on a western saddle this time and there was less distraction in the arena. I asked God to help him with his fear of getting through the walkway to the arena. Ashley leads him to the door and without hesitation he walks right through. She mounted him and rode around the arena a bit and even put him through a trot several times. Once she felt comfortable with him she brought him back to the gate where I was waiting to test drive him. I get on this large beast and had the stirrups adjusted. At first he didn't want to leave Ashley so I made sure that every turn we made she was in eye shot. Before you know it we were just wandering around the arena and made our way to the fence perimeter. I trotted him a little but I didn't want to overdo it because of the heaves. I rode him back to the gate where Ashley was and dismounted. I stood next to him while we talked for awhile. I looked at the horse and then back to Ashley and said, We would like to have him for our ministry, he's going to help people heal. I haven't told you his name yet......it's Sonny. Sonny is going to require some work to pull the fears out of him but as far as the heaves go.....not a game stopper. Like horse, people have whips in their lives that cripples to the point of trembling, that whip keeps us from being all we can be for Christ. I didn't digress this story titled "Called?????". I told you this story line because God can call Sonny's into ministries too. Early in this story I shared with you that I felt I was uneducated, not spiritual enough or even strong enough to do something like this and during that season I heard this quote from 3 people and 1 time on the radio in the same week. "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called". I was really getting tired of people saying that when I realized it wasn't them speaking it, it was God trying to get through the concrete forcefield that surrounded my head. Look people, if Carol and I can do this ministry then anythings possible in your life. Stepping out on faith meant a lot of surrender for us but it was a good surrender because Jesus is not our enemy, He is our protector and provider. For God so loved you that He sent His only son Jesus, for if you believe in Him you will surely have eternal life. That's a promise from God's word, John 3:16. God writes the best stories!