Ponies and Prayers

 

I am musing about.....

Ponies and Prayers

A friend of mine posted a fun question on Facebook the other day. She asked "What would your occupation be if you had followed your childhood dreams??

So I answered her. Don't laugh now. I answered....a Jockey.

Yep! You see, as a kid...horses were pretty much my life. Well, a good part of it, anyway.

I LOVED them. Still do;) 

My siblings and I "walked beans" for Dad, pulling weeds. We were given so much per row. Usually we would take 4 rows up and  4 rows back; 2 on either side of us. It brings back some pretty fun and nostalgic memories!

Well, one year, Dad told me that I could get a long awaited and begged for pony as my pay. Wow, was I excited! The family that was renting our previous farmhouse were really "into" horses and had found a pony for me! What a bonus for me (not sure how my folks felt about it), when the pony turned up pregnant and we got a cute little newborn foal as part of the deal. We named them Pepsi (the mom) and Tag-Along, called "Tag" (the foal).  Oh, how I loved them! When I was in 8th grade, I got Patches, a beautiful Pinto; half Quarterhorse, a fourth American Saddlebred and a fourth Arabian!

 I was in third grade at the time when we got the ponies. They became my "best friends". I remember spending hours in the old wood shed, brushing their coats till they gleamed, sometimes crying into their manes as I dealt with some of the bumps of childhood. Oh the memories...of breaking and training Tag, jumping them over the thistle patches in the orchard, showing them in 4-H shows (spending hours in the pasture cantering in circles, making sure Patches took the "right lead") and  .....

riding all over the countryside!

My parents were sure good to let me take off for hours on my horse like they did. As I rode the countryside, I took in the beauty around me, stopped and said "Hello" and visited with some of our sweet, caring neighbors (if any of you are reading, thanks for taking the time to visit with the young neighborhood girl on her horse:). 

Also, I fondly recall the 3 riding buddies I had, all at different times. Three High School aged girls all boarded a horse for awhile at a barn near our farm. If any of you are reading this (and I know one might be;)..thanks so much for befriending this "then young" mutual horse lover! Special times:)

 Well anyway, during these rides (when I was alone), I did A LOT of thinking and processing.  And a lot of praying.

As I got older, I talked to God and wondered...when would I be "called"? How and when will I know that it is "my time" to surrender to Jesus? And all during this time, Jesus was my friend. He just had not yet become my Savior. I honestly still felt like I was okay if I died. Until....the day came when I knew I wasn't. That is another story (and like for all of you who have said "yes" to Jesus, it is a precious one;) )

Well then....my horseback riding prayer times changed to times of communion with my Savior as I grew in His love and considered His teachings.

And through it all, Pepsi or Tag or Patches were there. 

So all this to say....Thank you!

There are times, like this, when God opens up our heart to things we may have taken for granted and stirs up increased gratitude within us. So with that....

Thank you Jesus for the gifts of parents who were open enough to give me wings and let me ride, for 3 amazing and beautiful horses who meant so much to me, for dear neighbors and friends who spoke into my life, and for the opportunity to grow up (at least to an extent) mentally and spiritually as we walked, trotted and cantered along, through the beautiful Illinois countryside.

                                              

                                                        

                                                          

  PS   I would LOVE it if you would share something from your childhood that you maybe have taken for granted but look back on now with thankfulness!!!