Hope

This is an expanded look at the values I have learned from horses and the horse world as first described in the blog post: Why Use Horses?

I have had the dream of Bright Side Youth Ranch in some shape or form for many years.  I have waited and prayed for such a long time, and at times, it often seemed as though I was so far away from the possibility of that dream ever being fulfilled.  I used to manage a horse farm, teach riding lessons, and show horses, but there were also times when my exposure to the horse world was limited.   Those were times were extremely difficult.  It would have been easy for me to be discouraged, and, believe me, I have shed many tears over what would seem to be the loss of a dream and the impossibility of it ever occurring.  And, one of the hardest parts for me to reconcile was knowing that the dream was a good thing but God had not granted something that seemed good and right yet.  But, now I can look back on my life and realize how much I have changed over the years, and the years of waiting taught me so much about other people and about myself.  I am not the same person I was 10 years ago.  God continues to mold and shape me, and I am more in love with Him now than ever before.  I chose to keep trusting and waiting, even when it seemed easier to just lie down and cry.  It’s interesting, too, how the dream has been shaped and molded as well and has become something much larger than how it started in my heart.  This is God’s vision entrusted to Devin and I, and it is certainly beyond anything we could do on our own.   We need God to make it happen, and therefore we have to be patient with His timing.

So, I choose to see that time of waiting and expectation as an opportunity for growth.  God was using and is still using that part of my life to instill in my character and heart the tools I will need in the future.  As Isaiah 26:8 says, I am waiting “eagerly” and finding hope for the future – that what God has promised will come to pass.