All for his Glory
As Iowa is beginning to thaw out and Spring is just around the corner we will all be itching to get back in the saddle again. The instructors at Cornerstone Farm have been working all winter preparing for this year's riding season. They have fresh ideas for lessons, and they have studied new methods for training. We strive to be the best that we can be for our horses and our clients.
More important than these skills, is why we do it. For both Sheri and I this life has been a calling. We each have our own story of how we got to be where we are and the evidence of the Lord's hand is all over how we have gotten to where we are. With that, there is no denying that we must do what we do to give Him the glory He is due. Our talents, our clients, our horses are all entrusted to us by the Lord. That gives us a much bigger purpose than simply teaching other how to ride, how to communicate with their horse, and the horse to understand humans.
The parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 is a great example of this. Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to a master having to go away on business and leaving his estate in their care. He divided it up among his servants and left. While he was away two of the servants invested his master's money and doubled the return on it, but the third did not, rather he hid the money so the master could come back to it. This parable can cover a multitude of topics; money, talent, possessions, horses....
One thing that Stephanie and I impress on our #VirtuousCowgirls is that the horses they work with at the Farm are not just for them, that others come and use them. They are given the tools to leave that horse better than when they have found it, and that is a lesson for life. We are to do the same with everything the Lord has entrusted into our care.
I spent one winter, searching the scriptures about the horse. I looked up ever refrence to horse, horses, horsemen, riders, saddle, wagon, cart, chariot, charioteers, and so on. I learned so much about the horse through looking up those verses, and reading the passages. Along with that, I had learned so much through the teachers with Creation Truth Foundation and the fact that all things are designed and specifically created by the Creator. That began to change how I trained horses as well and opened my eyes to why so many trainers fall into abusive ways with horses. That unfortunately is more common than you would think. It's not a "bad" trainer, per say, but it stems from that person's world view. I can say I saw myself starting down that path as well, that's when I knew I had to change what I did.
Turning everything over to the Lord and His ways changed me, changed my methods, opened my eyes and had made me better. I am a better person, I am a better wife, I am a better mother, I am a better instructor and trainer, I am a better teacher, and I cannot take the credit for any of it. I was transformed by the power of God, through His Holy Spirit and He longs to do the same for you. Will you let Him? Will you turn one thing over to Him today and watch Him work? Will you slowly begin to trust Him and let Him transform you?
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