Great Horse Stories

by Rebecca E. Ondov

  When I think of people whose attitude contributed to the outcome, the star that shines in my mind is Joseph. Wow! In the book of Genesis there are 13 entire chapters about this one man! Obviously God wants us to know about Joseph’s life.

  When he was a teenager, Joseph was betrayed by his jealous stepbrothers and sold into slavery. But he didn’t wail and moan about being a victim of circumstances. Instead he focused on God, which gave him hope. The people his brothers sold him to then sold Joseph to an Egyptian named Potiphar. “The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered” (Genesis 39:2). Potiphar was very pleased with Joseph and trusted him with his household and everything he owned.

  Potiphar’s wife, however, wanted to have an affair with Joseph. When he refused, she falsely accused him, and her husband had Joseph cast into prison.

  Even then Joseph didn’t lose heart and quit. “The LORD was with him…and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison” (39:21-22).

  Joseph stayed faithful to God, and God stayed with him, eventually orchestrating Joseph’s release from prison, his rise to becoming second in charge of Egypt, and the one who saved his family, including his treacherous brothers, from famine.

  I marvel at Joseph’s amazing faith and attitude. By concentrating on God and working diligently, he went from a slave and prisoner to being a top official in Egypt.

  Through Big Red’s attitude of hope and Wendy and Gary’s faith and diligence, the red colt grew into a strong and healthy horse. He was never sick another day and experienced no residual effects of his illness. When it came time for Wendy to send in his registration papers, she proudly penned his official name: Against All Odds.

  Lord, when the odds are stacked against me, remind me that my faith in You and my attitude help determine my future. Strengthen me with courage to face every adversity with faith in You, hope, and a positive heart. Amen.

  • Thoughts to Ponder •

  Have you been betrayed by a friend? How did you respond? If you could go back in time, how would you change your response? How do you maintain a positive attitude and press forward in your day-to-day life?

  33

  THE MISFIT

  Being Unique

  Large ceiling fans blew the hot and humid air through the sanctuary of the small country church. Voices echoed off the arched wooden ceiling as people visited among themselves before the service started. With her elbow resting over the top of a pew, Bonnie was turned sideways to talk to Laurie who sat behind her. Enthusiastically Bonnie waved her arm. “Can’t you just see it?” she exclaimed.

  Laurie leaned forward and nodded.

  Bonnie and her husband had retired and moved to this small community that was located in the lake country of northern Minnesota. Bonnie, a talented pianist, had already drawn the small church together through music. She’d formed a choir, and on the Sunday of the Fourth of July they’d put on a musical production. The church and the community had been thrilled.

  Now Bonnie was organizing a “live nativity” program for Christmas. A lot of folks hadn’t heard of such a thing, but her excitement was contagious. She talked about how the long U-shaped driveway in front of the church would be perfect. The cars could enter one end of the “U” and exit the other, stopping at the individual stations where the folks in the church would be acting out Christmas scenes. Bonnie nearly glowed as she paused, dreamily envisioning the evening’s celebration.

  Instantly, Laurie envisioned Joseph and Mary on the way to Bethlehem. Joseph would be leading a donkey with Mary sitting on its back. Swept along in Bonnie’s enthusiasm, Laurie said, “Well, we’ve got a donkey.”

  Bonnie smiled. “Great!”

  All of a sudden Laurie realized what she’d said. It was true she had a donkey. But the critter had been eating grass in the back pasture for years since the grandchildren had outgrown her. Was she still tame enough to ride? Would she even let someone lead her around? Worse yet, what if she pulled some of her donkey shenanigans? Although the donkey was a lovable teddy bear, she had been a challenge since she’d been given to Laurie and her husband.

  Laurie remembered that day all too well. A blue-sky, spring day, Laurie’s husband had been working outside. When he came in he mentioned casually, “By the way, a guy jogging by said, ‘I see that you’ve got horses. Do you want a donkey?’ ”

  Laurie asked, “And what did you say?”

  “I didn’t say anything. I thought you should know though. The man told me who to contact if we decide we’re interested.”

  Laurie hadn’t ever owned a donkey, but she thought the idea sounded fun. Reasoning that her baby granddaughter could ride it, she called and discovered that it had been a pet at a local kids’ camp. A couple of days later she and her husband drove over to see the donkey. They pulled up to a corral that contained one lone animal—a short, brownish-gray donkey with enormous white spots. It laid its floppy ears back, lifted its nose, and brayed, “Hee-haw. Hee-haw.” Its whole body shook and its ears flopped with the long, drawn-out honking noise. Laurie giggled. The fuzzy critter looked like a big teddy bear! The donkey stood a little over waist high. Laurie glanced at the donkey’s feet and grimaced. They looked like they’d never been trimmed. The hooves had grown so long that they curled up like skis. Laurie petted its shaggy coat. The poor gal looked like such a pitiful misfit. She needed to take it home. The first thing she would do was change its name. Laurie shook her head. Who would name a donkey Martha Stewart? So she dubbed it Annabelle or simply Donkey.

  Laurie figured out right away that donkeys aren’t horses wearing a different skin. From the core of their beings they are polar opposites. Instead of moving away from pressure, Annabelle would push into it. Anytime Laurie asked the donkey to do something she didn’t want to, the donkey would stiffen all four legs slightly splayed out and refuse to budge. Then she’d throw her head in a big circle as if shaking her head and saying, “No!” Even the seemingly simple task of leading Annabelle resulted in a major production. The donkey refused to move unless they strung a rope behind her rear-end. And dealing with her hooves? Almost impossible! No wonder they were curled like skis. The farrier Laurie hired charged her an extra five dollars—per kick.

  • Annabelle •

  Finally Laurie started to understand donkey thoughts. The little fuzzy beast was afraid of everything unfamiliar. Once Donkey understood that she wasn’t going to get hurt, she was okay. Soon the animal’s personality blossomed. When Laurie was cleaning the barn, Donkey would sometimes sneak up from behind and put her head under Laurie’s armpit begging for attention. Donkey loved stealing Laurie’s husband’s hat out of his back pocket. Over the years the donkey proved to be a great ride for the grandchildren. But she still was a misfit.

  Laurie’s stomach churned as the date of the live nativity drew closer. She shared with Bonnie her concerns about Annabelle’s donkey vices. Bonnie merely grinned and said, “I’ll be praying for Donkey.”

  And indeed she did. A few weeks later at one of the preparation meetings that Laurie wasn’t able to attend, Bonnie rallied the whole group to pray for Donkey. She led the prayer with “Lord, you know Annabelle. You made her.”

  From that moment on, Donkey became kind of a mascot to the church. Folks kept asking Laurie, “How’s Annabelle?” And a crazy thing happened. All of a sudden Annabelle became a gentle and sweet donkey. She didn’t have any of her usual donkey vices. On the first night of the production, Donkey even loaded easily into the horse trailer!

  Mid December when Laurie and her husband drove up to the church on the afternoon of the first production, it appeared that Donkey was cooperating but the weather wasn’t. A winter storm burst forth with freezing rain and snow. The lawn of the church bustled with activity even as folks bent against the wind and rubbed their hands to keep warm. They put the finishing touches on the lights that were strung from the trees. As dusk settled, everyone took their places under the glowing lantern
s. At the first stop, the pastor and his wife stood bundled up against the pelting rain. They would greet each carload of people with an explanation of the tour and offer a gift bag that contained a New Testament and a coloring book.

  Then cars would pull forward to an open-sided, wooden hut. Under a spotlight, “Luke” sat at his desk writing the Christmas story on scrolls. Next was Laurie as Mary, dressed in a big skirt and seated on Annabelle, who was being led by Laurie’s husband dressed as “Joseph.” Following them, some shepherds stood around a campfire. Nobody in the community had sheep, so they used goats instead.

  An innkeeper sat at the No-Room Inn. Next was a spotlight that shone brightly in the top of a tree to illuminate a local tree-service guy dressed up as an “angel of the Lord.” He would periodically blow a trumpet that would blast through the cold night air announcing Jesus’ birth. Then he’d wave at the people.

  A spectacular stable scene came next, featuring another Mary and Joseph, the baby Jesus, and a few miniature donkeys. The last stop was a choir singing Christmas carols. Their beautiful melodies drifted throughout the whole production.

  Laurie took a deep breath as one of the guys made a stirrup with his hands. She stepped up and straddled Annabelle. Slowly the headlights of the cars pierced the darkness and pulled into the U-shaped driveway. For the next two nights, through sleet and snow, Annabelle calmly carried Mary back and forth to “Bethlehem.” Annabelle would stop when a new car would drive up. The people were excited to see Mary on a real, live donkey. They asked questions and snapped pictures. Annabelle didn’t even mind the flashes from the camera!

  Over 100 cars wound around the U-shaped driveway during the two evenings. Not bad for a community of only a couple hundred people. People’s lives were touched, and a misfit, floppy-eared donkey finally found her place in life—a starring role in the Christmas story.

  When Bonnie emailed me the picture of Annabelle carrying Mary, I instantly fell in love with the little spotted gal with gargantuan ears and a loud hee-haw. Misfits play big parts in God’s plans. Look at the variety of people God included in His Word. Most of the disciples weren’t handsome or famous. Many of them were sweaty fishermen—working-class people. Ordinary men God worked through to accomplish extraordinary things. God carries that same theme through to completion, revealing that His thoughts are opposite of the world’s. Most kings of the world rode magnificent horses, but God chose a lowly donkey to carry His Son to Jerusalem. On His celebrated ride, Jesus rode the misfit of the equine kingdom (Matthew 21:2-5). The apostle Paul marveled about the lowly misfits God chooses to work with and through:

  My dear friends, remember what you were when God chose you. The people of this world didn’t think that many of you were wise. Only a few of you were in places of power, and not many of you came from important families. But God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame (1 Corinthians 1:26-27 CEV).

  Those misfits whom God has chosen resemble uniquely shaped pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. The picture won’t be complete without all of us. Like Annabelle in the Christmas play and sweaty fishermen who became disciples, each of us has an important role to play in carrying the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. No matter how lowly or how much of a misfit you think you are, there’s a place for you in God’s plan!

  Lord, reveal my role in Your great plan. Amen.

  • Thoughts to Ponder •

  Do you feel like a misfit? That you’re on the outside looking in? Have you considered that your unique qualities make you an asset in God’s kingdom? How do you think God wants you to use your special traits and abilities for Him?

  34

  GENTLE HEARTS

  Gentle Giant

  The clop, clop, clop, clop of Honey’s hooves on the dirt shoulder of the road drifted through the small, rural neighborhood in Minnesota. Fields of green grain carpeted the rolling hills. Seventeen-year-old Jami took up some slack in the reins as her chestnut-red horse drifted toward the upcoming driveway. Jami chuckled. Ever since she’d started selling Avon from horseback, Honey had turned into a social butterfly. She insisted on turning down every driveway because she knew there might be a kind lady who would offer her an apple or a carrot.

  Jami glanced down the driveway and spotted Janet, a good friend and close neighbor. She was playing with her nine-month-old son, Drew, on an expanse of freshly mowed lawn in the center of a circular drive. Jami guided her mare down the driveway. She stopped Honey at the edge of the lawn. The saddle creaked as she dismounted. After dropping the reins, she dug an Avon catalog out of the saddlebags. Honey knew the routine. She instantly lowered her head and cropped the lush, green grass.

  Jami smiled at Drew as she strolled toward them. The baby was sitting on the lawn in a T-shirt, diaper, and bare feet. He grinned at her and giggled.

  The warm summer sun lulled Jami and Janet as they browsed through the catalog and chatted about their past week. Jami glanced over to check on her horse. She stared in amazement. Honey was still nibbling on the grass, but her large, brown eyes were locked on Drew. The baby sat inches away from Honey’s nose. Jami’s mind ran wild. Oh my gosh! He’s right there! That’s dangerous! She knew any sudden movement might scare Honey, and she could accidentally trample the child. She held her breath as the next few moments seemed to unfold in slow motion.

  The chunky, blond-haired and blue-eyed infant was enthralled with his new discovery. Instead of slapping the horse with waving hands like most infants do, Drew was carefully exploring her face with his pudgy fingers. Honey slowed her chewing. It was almost as if the mare and child were silently communicating with each other. Gently the child traced her nostrils and stroked the white furry star on her forehead. Placing a hand on either side of Honey’s nose, he clung to her bridle.

  • Jami’s horse Honey •

  Jami froze. How will Honey take someone yanking on her bridle?

  Hand over hand the child pulled himself up halfway and teetered.

  Jami’s heart raced. Oh my! He’s climbing up her face! Honey won’t like that. I’ve got to do something—but what without scaring her or startling Drew?

  Drew pulled himself all the way upright.

  Jami, relieved at Honey’s calm manner, looked over at Janet.

  Janet wasn’t upset at all. Instead she seemed entranced by the beauty of the moment.

  An almost palpable bond was being woven between the child and the big, red horse. Wobbling, Drew grabbed Honey’s ears, one in each hand, to steady himself. He wiggled his bare feet. He rocked forward and back. Honey didn’t flinch or move a hoof. She seemed to be enjoying his curiosity. After what seemed like eternally long moments to Jami, Drew plopped on the grass and found something else to explore.

  Jami breathed a sigh of relief, but the wonder of those moments still captivates her. How can a creature so big and powerful as Honey be so gentle?

  That’s the same question I often wonder about God. How can a Being who created galaxies and hung the stars in place be so gentle and kind with me…with us? The explanation is agape love. In the Greek language the New Testament was written in, agape refers to God’s kind of love—complete, unconditional, and unwavering. It’s hard to understand the depth of that kind of love without looking at Jesus. He reflected the nature of God while He walked on earth (Hebrews 1:3).

  When I’m reading the New Testament, one of my favorite stories is found in Matthew 19:13. The people were bringing their children to Jesus so He could bless them. The disciples tried to shoo the parents and children away, thinking Jesus was too busy to waste time on children. But Jesus told them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14). Jesus never pushed children away; He always welcomed them with open arms.

  These words become extra special when combined with John 1:12: “To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right
to become children of God.” Wow! Once we’ve accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, God looks at us as His children. His gentle heart overflows with love for us. Like Drew with Honey, we can get up close and personal with God and explore who He is without fear.

  There are many times when I read through the Bible that I’ll come to a passage that befuddles me. I’ll pause to consider the teaching. I often feel a kinship with Drew when he explored Honey’s face. I cling to a few words, like Drew did to Honey’s ears, and roll them over and over in my mind as I ask God to reveal His wisdom. Then the warmth of joy radiates through my spirit as God welcomes my innocence and curiosity. He always impresses the answer on my spirit. Like Honey towering over Drew, God towers over us, but He is gentle and never pushes us away. The most powerful Being in the universe has the gentlest heart of all. He wants to be our best friend and guide.

  Lord, please reveal Your gentle heart. Amen.

  • Thoughts to Ponder •

  Do you think of God as being all-powerful yet gentle very often? Do you agree that He welcomes your curiosity about Him? Have you looked at yourself as a child going to your heavenly Father when you have questions? What would you like to ask Him? Why not ask Him now?

  35

  SNICKERS

  The Circle of Love

  The back door slammed shut. Heather, who was sitting at the kitchen table, glanced up at nine-year-old David. Tears were streaming down his thin face as he rushed inside. His back was hunched over from scoliosis. His tousled black hair fell into his eyes. He paused and stammered, “I’m a throwaway kid.” Sobbing, he rushed into his bedroom.