Ted’s Turn

Our horse has severely banged up his gate.  He has taken several years to do this and generally the damage occurs when he bangs the gate with his hoof thinking I’m ignoring his demands for food or I’m not moving fast enough in his mind.  Several times he has used the gate to scratch his rear end, so along with dents from his hooves, there is a bow in the gate.  I have drilled holes and repaired broken gate parts with nuts and bolts.  Several times he has actually managed to pull the gate off its hinges, but he never escaped because he could not figure out how to walk across it.

During the winter I have been giving him hay in the mornings and in the evenings since the cold weather and the drought have left him with a bare pasture.  The evening feeding starts with the cats.  The horse then gets a partial can of horse feed.  I have to feign dumping in the feed because he is so eager for it, his head can block the feed from reaching the trough.  Once he starts chewing, I can add more feed. Llamas and dogs are next and I’m also checking everyone’s water supply.  One cat waits patiently by the faucet as she does not like water in a bowl, only dripping water.  I then go back to the horse gate to give him the rest of the feed.  While feeding the other animals, I leave the remaining horse feed in a can right by the gate so he’ll see it.  That way he knows I’m getting back to him eventually.  By keeping his eye on the can, he is not tempted to run around to the llama pen opening and helping himself to their feed.  It gives the llamas a fighting chance for their food.  When he gets the last of his feed, then I give him some more hay which keeps him tied down at the gate for a longer time and the llamas can finish.

Things have changed though.  The llamas are out pretty early and find all kinds of things to nibble on.  I’m impressed with their foraging skills. They have also learned that hay is available early in the mornings.  Several times recently, they have been close to the horse gate and when they hear me, they come trotting over by the horse.  They walk right up to the hay and just help themselves.  They don’t eat much, but they take their time with it.  The horse stands back while the llamas munch on the hay.  He looks forlorn as he waits for the llamas to finish.  What I have not yet understood is why with his size and obvious appetite does he pull back and wait till the llamas are finished.  He used to inhale his food and run over to the llama gate, but in the morning he just waits.

Sometimes I’m like the horse with God.  I want things my way and I want them now.  When I get in that mode, I’m not listening to God at all.  If God is so smart, why can’t he see that my way is better?  At least God is very patient with me.  He knows that in my Bible reading, I will read of him, or in my prayers I might actually listen for him.  What usually happens is God drops a llama in my life and I have to stand aside and wait.  It is in the waiting that God can touch us most effectively.