For the past two years, my five-year-old gelding, Pablo, has lived a life of ease, spending time with his herd (his sister and the pony-boss), having meals provided to him, and just being a pet. His sister recently left us and now that the herd is more manageable, my son and I have been spending more time with them. This has brought to my attention some lapses in manners that Pablo has slipped into, which needed remedying. So I invited Laura out to give Pablo a little brush-up course.
First, Pablo did not want to be caught, and before Laura got here, we spent an hour doing laps around the "barn" until he finally tired and consented to be caught. He was not much better for Laura, either, and over the course of another hour, she worked him up into a lather. She backed and ran him and taught him to focus on her. Over and over, she had to remind him that he needed to pay attention to her and her only, and when he didn't, boy was he in trouble. By the end, they were dancing. When she would step forward, he would step back; when she would step back, he would step forward; when she would take a step toward his shoulder, he would take a step away. It looked like a graceful waltz. But he was paying attention to her and her only. Even his head was lowered so that his eyes were at the level of her eyes.
Later that day, I heard a song on the radio, and part of lyrics reminded me very much of the dance that Laura and Pablo did. "I won't speak until You speak. I won't move until You move." And I have to think, am I the horse who is looking at and listening to everything that is going on around me, and sometimes walking into my master, or sometimes refusing to move; or am I the horse who is so focused on my master that I don't hear anything else? I want to be so focused on my Master that when He speaks, I speak His words and when He moves, I also move.
But this takes FOCUS. I have to admit that my first thought of every day is more likely to be "What am I going to do today?" rather than, "Lord, what do You want me to do today?". I have been living a life of ease, a quiet life in a pasture with my herd. A lovely life. But not a Servant's life. I need to focus!!
First, Pablo did not want to be caught, and before Laura got here, we spent an hour doing laps around the "barn" until he finally tired and consented to be caught. He was not much better for Laura, either, and over the course of another hour, she worked him up into a lather. She backed and ran him and taught him to focus on her. Over and over, she had to remind him that he needed to pay attention to her and her only, and when he didn't, boy was he in trouble. By the end, they were dancing. When she would step forward, he would step back; when she would step back, he would step forward; when she would take a step toward his shoulder, he would take a step away. It looked like a graceful waltz. But he was paying attention to her and her only. Even his head was lowered so that his eyes were at the level of her eyes.
Later that day, I heard a song on the radio, and part of lyrics reminded me very much of the dance that Laura and Pablo did. "I won't speak until You speak. I won't move until You move." And I have to think, am I the horse who is looking at and listening to everything that is going on around me, and sometimes walking into my master, or sometimes refusing to move; or am I the horse who is so focused on my master that I don't hear anything else? I want to be so focused on my Master that when He speaks, I speak His words and when He moves, I also move.
But this takes FOCUS. I have to admit that my first thought of every day is more likely to be "What am I going to do today?" rather than, "Lord, what do You want me to do today?". I have been living a life of ease, a quiet life in a pasture with my herd. A lovely life. But not a Servant's life. I need to focus!!
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