Victory

Sugar and I got a new riding student today: Addie, who along with her family, is visiting from Kansas. Addie hadn’t been around horses for years and was quite afraid. Her cousin Hunter assured Addie that Sugar was calm and nice, and then she rode Sugar so Addie could see that it was true. But I could see the fear on Addie’s face and feel the tension in her legs as I adjusted the stirrups.

“It’s okay to be afraid,” I said. “But you’ve got to face your fears, or else they will control you.” I admitted that struggle with fear sometimes too.

I told her that she could just sit on Sugar and didn’t have to go anywhere. But as Addie petted Sugar and we kept chatting, she relaxed enough to want to ride her at the walk. By the time Addie got off the horse, she was grinning. When I told her how proud I was that she’d stood up to her fears, tears of joy filled her eyes—and mine.

“I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.” –PSALM 34:4 (NIV)