Great Horse Stories (15 page)

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Boon
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Normally Wendy loved planning the babies within her herd of 50 head or so, but today an ominous cloud hung over her that she couldn't shake. Absorbed in her grief over the tragic events that had occurred lately, she wondered if she was on the right track.

More than 30 years ago, Wendy had scraped together every penny she had to purchase her first broodmare. The mare was older, but she produced some fine offspring. Wendy fought tooth and nail to work hard, save money, and eventually buy a ranch. Many nights she poured over pedigrees and planned strategic purchases of horses to fulfill the dream God had placed in her heart
from the time she was a little girl. She wanted to make a significant contribution to the equine breeding world by improving genetics. Her horses had gained quite a bit of fame, and they'd been sold around the world. Some had become jumping horses competing in England, some were professional polo horses in Argentina, and there were breeding ranches in California and Australia that had snatched up several. Some of the working cattle ranches in Montana wanted the bloodlines she'd established.

Wendy had been living her dream—and then she hit a brick wall. This spring one of her fillies developed a rare disease. The baby went from a healthy, bounding filly to one that laid down on the stall floor and refused to get up. Around the clock Wendy had massaged its legs and doctored it. The filly would place her head in Wendy's lap, looking up at her with innocent, loving eyes. But the little girl deteriorated so much that Wendy had to put her down. Heartbroken, she cried until her eyes felt raw.

Shortly after that a bouncy, month-old colt bloated as if he were bleeding internally. Within hours he too had died. When one of her broodmares didn't come in for the morning feeding, Wendy went out into the pasture and found the mare's four-month-old filly pawing at her dead mom's side. Now Wendy had an orphaned filly to raise too.
The mare looked fine last night
, Wendy thought. The autopsy revealed that the horse had died of a huge, cancerous tumor that had closed off her intestines.

The three freak deaths so close together spun Wendy into depression.
I didn't get into the business to watch horses die
, reverberated through her mind.

The stallion's hooves clopped on the hard-packed dirt as they approached the breeding shed. Boon's head swung up and his ears pricked forward as they neared the wide doorway. He'd spotted a mare standing in the stall…or rather he smelled her. He gave a low nicker. The mare responded with a chortle. Wendy walked through the doorway coaching Boon to be quiet.

A pigeon was nesting on the sill above the barn door. The movement of the horse coming in scared the bird. It screeched and dive-bombed
Boon's head. The stallion spooked sideways. Wendy scrambled to stay out from under him and, at the same time, maintain control. After she calmed the stallion down, Wendy wanted to throw her hands in the air and scream. This was Boon's first breeding, and she wanted it to go smoothly. Horses, like all animals, learn and remember from their first experiences. She knew it was important to do everything right and keep everyone calm. This interruption in her well-laid plans blew the lid off any serenity she had left.

That night at dinner, Wendy growled to Gary, her husband, “Those stupid birds! I've got to get that nest down. This happens every spring!” In years past it had been tolerable because the horses were used to the birds. But Boon hadn't had a clue it was coming.

The next day Wendy grabbed a long rake and swept the pigeon nest off the ledge. Two whitish-tan, speckled eggs fell to the ground and broke. The little yolks sat on top of the straw. Wendy's eyebrows furrowed with sadness, but she consoled herself.
We have too many pigeons anyway. They mess up the hay.
But still, breaking the eggs and terminating the pigeons' babies added to the dark cloud above her head.

The next time she led Boon toward the barn he jigged when they got close. His gaze darted back and forth. Wendy tried to keep him calm…and then
Poof!
Two pigeons flew into his face. Wide-eyed, Boon spooked again.

The birds had rebuilt their nest above the doorway! Wendy was at her wit's end.
Will things ever right themselves?

The war was on.

Wendy got the rake and destroyed the nest again.

The pigeons rebuilt.

She destroyed the nest again. This time another egg dropped to the ground and broke. The yolk stood still a moment before it dribbled away.

A couple of days later, Wendy ambled into the breeding shed to do chores. She noticed a pigeon flying into the barn from outside. It had a piece of straw in its beak. The bird looked like it was smiling. Wendy stood still, confounded.
This bird is not going to give up! She's going to keep rebuilding her nest no matter what. And she's happy about it.

Compassion rose inside Wendy.
That bird deserves to have a nest. All she wants is a baby. Even though she lost all those other babies, she's going to keep trying because a baby is worth it. And I'm going to let her have it.
Wendy felt the Lord touch her heart with that message of encouragement.
Keep trying because babies are worth it.

Wendy took the lesson to heart and meditated on it. Her new focus broke the bonds of depression that had clung to her. God's intervention set her free. Wendy had slipped into the depths of despair because it looked like her dream had been destroyed.

Another person who may have felt that was David. Before he became king of ancient Israel, he may have felt the way Wendy did when he led King Saul's army back to a town named Ziklag. They discovered the town had been destroyed in their absence, and all their families had been kidnapped. The men wanted to stone David because they were bitter in spirit.

What the mighty leader did next amazes me. “David encouraged himself in the L
ORD
his God” (1 Samuel 30:6
KJV
). When everyone and everything seemed against him—even his men wanted to kill him—David turned to God for encouragement and guidance. David asked whether he should pursue the raiders. God said yes, so David did. When his army came upon the Amalekites, the Israelites slew almost everyone, rescued the kidnapped people, and gained the spoils the raiders had been amassing.

When Wendy encouraged herself with words from God, she grabbed hold of victory too. The key is to meditate on God's Word and do what He says. He will fill us with hope and see us through our circumstances.

Are you wondering about Boon and the birds? During the days the nest was down, Wendy worked Boon through his skittishness. She never knocked down any more nests, and the pigeons settled in and hatched two babies.

This past winter I met with Wendy at the ranch and asked her to show me around. As we walked through the wide doorway of the breeding shed, four pigeons dive-bombed us. I nearly jumped out of my skin. Wendy laughed so hard her whole body shook. She said those
pigeons are great reminders of the wisdom she got from God: “When things look overwhelming, keep on and don't stop. When you get to the other side, it's all worth it.”

Lord, when I'm down and blue, please give me words of encouragement—special ones from Your heart to mine. Amen.

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Thoughts to Ponder
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Do you get depressed when it seems like life is stacked against you? Like there's no way you can come out ahead? What options do you have when that feeling comes?

24

THE FLOOD!

Praying for a Miracle

Tuesday, October 20, 1998, Gonzales, Texas

R
obin's fingers gripped the cold bathroom sink. Her heart pounded as her eyes rested on the words she'd written on the mirror: “God can work miracles.” She swallowed and focused on the rest. “With hope in our lives, all else is possible.” She closed her eyes.
God, thank You for protecting my family and friends. Now what about the horses?

The past few days had been a raging nightmare. Storm systems had collided. One contained the residual moisture from the tropical cyclone Madeline. With the 22 inches of torrential rain that had fallen over the weekend, the Guadalupe River, which normally flowed along the west side of downtown Gonzales, had been transformed into a deadly flash flood. The river had crested at 51 feet—flood stage was 31 feet. The “100-year flood” swept through portions of the city and surrounding countryside. Many roads had been barricaded for days. Media reports were constantly providing updates on deaths and devastation.

Although Robin's home was on a hill above downtown and wasn't in danger of flooding, emotionally she was exhausted from praying nonstop for family and friends who potentially were in danger…and for her horses.

As she looked in the mirror, a memory surged through her mind. A few days before, she'd walked down to the park a half mile away. The closer she got to the river, the louder the roar of the water until it was deafening. When she got to the riverbank, all she could see for miles
was dirty brown water sweeping away trees and cars. On a little island in the river and on the far bank, soaking-wet cows stood with their heads hanging low, exhausted from being swept down the river until they managed to clamber up the banks to safety. Other cows thrashed as they still floated down the river, their mournful moos piercing the air. She watched as the current swept a cow off its feet. It bobbed downstream trying to hold its head above water. She shuddered as she thought about her horses.
Are they alive? Did they get swept away like that cow?

Robin's horses were pastured on a ranch 17 miles from town. She had no way of knowing if they were okay. There wasn't anybody who lived on the land or close by that she could contact, and the roads going out there had been under water. A creek ran through the pasture, dividing it in two. The barn was on higher ground, and if the horses were up by the barn, they might be okay. But if they'd been on the other side of the creek when the flash flood hit…

Robin shook her head. She especially couldn't bear to think of her horse Gus being washed into the raging creek where he'd drown or be battered by trees and debris until he was killed.
Is Gus okay? God, I know You can save and protect him. I know You love horses. Please help them.
But deep inside there was a little doubt that was tearing her heart. Would God do this for her? Was she worth that kind of miracle?

As a caseworker for Child Protective Services, all day long Robin was battered emotionally while she acted as an advocate for abused and neglected children. The system seemed inadequate in a lot of cases. Often nothing changed for the children. At those times she wondered if her work mattered. And when she was really worn down, she wondered if she was valuable to God. Her marriage was also on shaky ground at the time.

During these difficult times, her horse Gus had been a stabilizing force in Robin's life. At the end of the day she couldn't wait to wrap her arms around the gray gelding. It was almost as if he felt the turmoil she carried in her heart from the horrendous things the children had endured. After brushing and saddling him, the real world disappeared when she put her foot in the stirrup and swung up. She entered
a beautiful world riding a horse that loved her over grassy hills, around tall trees, and along a gurgling creek.

Robin looked into the mirror, double-checking her makeup before she went to work. She took a deep breath and focused her heart on the words scribbled there. “You are a mighty God.” She paused and let the words sink in. It was Tuesday. Although the river was still way outside its banks, the rain had stopped. Over the last 24 hours, the water had subsided enough that many roadblocks had been taken down. After work, her husband would drive her out to the ranch—if the roads were clear.

After work, the sun shone brightly as John and Robin drove slowly down the storm-damaged roads in their silver Ford pickup. The truck bounced through new and old potholes. Whole sections of pavement had cracked and fallen away.

Robin's heart pounded harder and harder with each passing mile. She knew it would be a miracle if all their horses were okay.
Is Gus okay? Oh, Gus, you have to be okay!
In the back of her mind the doubt snuck in again.
Does God love me enough to do a miracle for me?

When the pavement ended and the dirt road began, the truck sank deep into the muck. The engine roared and the wheels spun, flinging mud along the sides of the truck. Slipping and sliding as if they were on ice, they wound down the road. Robin leaned forward as the little empty farmhouse and the rusty tin barn came into view. She surveyed the area around the barn. The water hadn't gotten this high. They turned into the driveway and drove past the house. The truck rumbled as they drove over the cattle guard and down to the barn. Her hopes soared as she glimpsed a couple of horses standing under the eaves of the barn. But as they drove closer, she saw a couple of buckskins, a sorrel, and a bay. Her mind screamed,
Gus, you have to be here too!