The Dressage Diva

I am not so sure about this horse trailer nonsense.

I heard it before I saw it.

A truck turned into the driveway pulling a small two-horse trailer. From within came the racket of a horse testing his fury against the strength of the trailer.

That would be Stormy, the five-year-old gelding I had agreed to break to ride. I had this sinking feeling I wasn’t charging enough.

The young woman who owned Stormy and two unhappy men climbed out of the truck. Her face was tear-stained as she told of their ordeal in getting Stormy into the trailer. After several hours of oats, brooms, coaxing and coercing, they finally ended up winching the horse into the trailer. They were lucky that, other than some missing hide from both man and horse, nobody had been hurt.

And so began Stormy’s 90 days of training.

I started by spending time with him, letting him get to know me. I asked him to trust me in simple, straightforward things. Trust enough to let me groom his entire body. Enough to let me pick up his feet. To allow himself to be tied and restrained. Each time I worked him I tested his trust a little more, and day by day his faith in me grew. Before long, Stormy was lunging, wearing a saddle and bridle, and, finally, carrying my weight. For my part, whenever Stormy placed his trust in me when I asked him to do something scary or new, I was very careful to not betray that trust. I never over-faced him, so he was never hurt or stressed beyond what he could handle, both physically and mentally.

Did every day go as smoothly as I planned? No — he broke my favourite bridle.

Did Stormy sometimes choose to resist or flee rather than trust? Of course he did. “Fight or flight” is a horse’s natural instinct, and one day he nearly drowned me. (Another story for another Dressage Diva blog.)

But Stormy’s resistance lessened as the weeks went on. His choice to submit and trust came more readily with each lesson, each success, and each victory that we shared together.

Twelve weeks later, the same truck and trailer returned to pick up Stormy. “Please tell me you’ve been practising loading him into a trailer,” the young owner hoped aloud.

“No, I haven’t,” I replied as I led Stormy toward the trailer.

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.    Psalm 56:3

I am awed by the tremendous things that some people have accomplished — or rather — that God has accomplished through them. For example, Corrie ten Boom lived by her own words: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” And Mother Teresa, said “I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.”

When the task is difficult, the path obscure, and the doubts looming, what gives some people the courage to place their trust in God, and wade into the uncertain?

The answer is this: God grew their faith with the small challenges first. Corrie ten Boom’s faith and courage grew as she became increasingly involved in her parents’ efforts to help Jews escape the Nazi occupation. Mother Teresa’s worldwide charities and influence started when she was a young nun trusting God when he called her to start a school for the slum children of Calcutta.

God’s greatest desire for you is not that you would feed every hungry mouth, or heal every sickness, or teach people to stop hurting each other, or even to bring people to His Son, Jesus. Our God is a personal God. It is His greatest desire that you would trust Him with “the ask” He has put before you today. Trust that He will not over-face you. When we hand every doubt and fear to Him and step out in obedient faith, He is able to use ordinary people to heal, to comfort, to love, to feed, to bring about peace, and to lead others into relationship with Him.

So where in your life is God asking you to trust? If you are honest with yourself and God, you already know the answer to that question. It’s something that is little difficult, makes you uncomfortable, fills you with uncertainty and fear, but you just know that it’s where you are being led, where you are being asked to submit and trust.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?    Psalm 27:1

 Stormy pricked his ears and lagged for a moment on the lead when he saw the hated trailer. “I know it’s a big ask, Little One,” I whispered to him, “but trust. Remember and trust.”

As the owner watched in surprised delight, her horse walked into the trailer and waited quietly as the door was closed behind him.

So what about you? I know it’s a big ask, Little One, but God wants to do something amazing through you. And it’s going to start with that first trust.