Keep your helmet on

You know, life with horses can be quite the adventure. During the past 4 years of owning Flash I've learned so many things! There have been many opportunities to learn more about horses in general, but I've also found that owning a horse can teach you a lot of life lessons. Who's better at teaching you patience, perseverance, and endurance than an ornery pony???

There is one riding "rule" that I try to be very strict about obeying - always wear a helmet. No matter what horse I'm riding or where I'm riding, I always wear a helmet because accidents happen. Yes, they can be uncomfortable or get hot in the summer, but if something would ever happen it could save your life. Flash has never tried to hurt me, and I don't think she ever would, but that doesn't mean that accidents won't happen.

A week or two ago I was out riding Flash through the field, and I asked her to canter. She took off much faster than I was hoping, and I had a little bit of trouble controlling her. As I was working on slowing her down she stepped in a hole and stumbled, throwing me off the front. Praise the Lord that both of us were fine and I came away with nothing more than a few bruises and mild whiplash. It could have been so much worse, especially if I hadn't been wearing a helmet.

The reason I write this isn't just to tell you to "always wear a helmet when you ride", but to remind you of something much more important than wearing your helmet. Our trust in the Lord, in some ways, can be compared to a helmet. When we put on a helmet we are not promised a perfect ride with no accidents...but we are going to be protected if we fall. In the same way, when we put our trust in God we are not promised a perfect life free of trials and persecution, but we do have the hope of eternal life and the peace that comes from knowing that everything is in God's hands. If we fall off of our horse, we aren't going to take off our helmet, throw it on the ground and blame it for the accident...if anything it will make us more thankful for the helmet knowing that it may have just saved our life. When trials of this life come we shouldn't "take off" our faith in God and blame Him for our problems, but let those things draw us nearer to our Savior, knowing that He cares for us and wants what is best for our lives.
 

(this is no one in particular, just a cute little girl that was at the barrel show that I went to today)

So my dear friends....keep your helmet on....especially when the road gets bumpy.

Enjoy the ride :)