It was a show stopper- a horse, firing backward off a trailer, snapping the lead shank and prancing, tail flagging, on a tour of the show grounds. Her owner had dutifully checked that she was tied… and then went around to un-fasten the tail bar….
You never know the strength of a shank when it’s hanging on the tack room wall – only when it’s tested.
As we head into a new year, our resolutions will be tested by February. And as we head into the unknown of 2024, our “faith” will likely be tested too – you know, what we believe, expect and hope in.
“You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?”
C.S. Lewis, wrestling to make sense of grief through his writing, in the heartache of losing his “Joy”. (his wife).
What I believe about horses has been tested over the years I’ve trained professionally. Tested by those horses who didn’t fit the mold or by inquisitive riding students who pushed me to explain things more clearly. And tested by listening to those who held different viewpoints.
Success and failure, changing world events and the changing seasons of life test our beliefs.
Is what I believe enough to hold me steady in the year to come?
As I head into the uncertainty of the new year, I’m hanging on to what I believe about Christmas to keep me steady. No, my belief in Santa didn’t last beyond my big brother’s “investigative reporting”.
But I’m facing what I don’t know by holding on to what I do – the Christ of Christmas.