Life in a Round Pen

The sweat was rolling off my brow in thick greasy drops. Flies were buzzing all around my face and neck, searching for their next easy meal. The pungent smell of horse sweat and leather filled the air. The wild eyed young horse raced around the pen, desperately searching for any way to get out of the presence of the man in the middle. The horse was trying to figure out what I was trying to teach him. At the same time I was trying to understand all he had to teach me.

I kept watching his body language. Finally when his body language said he was ready to listen, I took a step backwards, turned my body from his and relaxed my posture. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me, curious about this new presence in his life. I made a step toward his hind quarters and he yielded his most precious defense; a rear foot, to my gaze. I took a step backwards and he took a step toward me. At that moment I knew I had him and he knew he had me.

I realized that the horse had taken the first step toward a purposeful life serving a higher power. Over the next several months the relationship would become more demanding and more rewarding at the same time. Every demand I made of the horse he had to make the decision to give more of his self. Not every demand is freely met. There were many struggles and confrontations along the way. In the end the horse became a willing listener to the will of its master. Like a loving servant, anxiously anticipating the next command of his benevolent master, the horse became a living metaphor; a metaphor for the relationship between God and man.

Each one of us has a divine calling on our lives. Ever since that hot sticky day in upstate New York 9 years ago I knew that I had finally found God’s purpose for mine. I knew that I had been led to the discovery that horses would play a divine role in bringing many people closer to God. As I, like the horse, looked to the man in the middle, the relationship and the destiny continued to become unveiled. Many horses later, the connections still strike me as the most profound lessons life has to offer.

Now it is time to take the candle from under the bowl and share what has been revealed to a simple, faithful seeker. I will never claim to know everything about God or horses, let alone hold myself as the ultimate authority on either. I simply look to the man in the middle for direction and seek to do his will.