December 25, 2005

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"In everything we do, do it as unto the Lord"... that is a powerful bible verse, and one that comes to my mind when I am faced with challenges in the holiday season. Rush here, rush there, deadlines, commitments, wrapping gifts, cards sent, kids and their school parties, relatives... it is endless. Somehow it can lose its meaning if we are not careful. Chores, special supplements, special treatments - even the things we love best on an ordinary day can become something we grumble about when life overwhelms us.

How blessed we are - Lone Oak, Kokinos, Kennan's Jefrrey, Miss Josie, Brandy, Laredo Hall, Bob Cook Precious KC, Asha, TJ's Miss Double Mak, Pace Invader, the list goes on and on - the list is a whole herd of happy, content, healthy horses who are being provided for because of the grace of God and support from people like you. Here there is peace, there is love... until it can be replaced by someone else that God sends us! I can hardly wait for Christmas Eve at midnight, when our family will go outside to see if we can catch the horses bowing down to their knees, in honor of the birth of Christ. Will your animals be speaking or kneeling that night? It's fun to think about, isnt it?

Sometimes I look at each situation in my life as if I am being tested. Traffic in town, impatient people, demands....how will I react? I will bet that God smiles when I can demonstrate the seven fruits of the Spirit and model them for my children. The fruits, if we could teach them to our children from day 1, would be the only discipline our schools would ever need to instill. Do you know the fruits: Peace, love, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control... not necessarily in that order. I wish all of you the gift of the seven fruits this season, and remember that it is Jesus' birthday!

If you walked into my house on any given day, you would see an aquarium. Inside that aquarium is a variety of fish - and not fish you would choose in a pet store! We inherited a plecostamus from my sister almost three years ago. The brown, scaly algae-eater morphed from a one-inch fish to what is now almost six or more inches. He is truly a monster! Then one day almost two years ago Zachary my son came home with a minnow he had not used for fishing on the river. He decided to put it in the aquarium, where it thrived. About a year later, another orphan minnow was tossed into the tank. I honestly think the older minnow was very happy to see one of his own kind. Along with the three, we purchased a Siamese-fighting Fish, or Betta. In he went with the crew. Peacefully coexisting in the same tank, they have thrived today until I found our precious Betta dead at the bottom of the tank. Sadly, I netted him and we will have a proper burial later today. He was a happy betta and led a full life (is that crazy to say?)....and was submissive rather than vicious!

I guess when I look at those minnows I think that somehow, someway God chose them to come to us - survivors - thrown into the tank of life. They have no purpose now, as they cannot ever be thought of as "bait".... but they give us joy. And they are the inspiration for a story we shared with Zach's class at school titled, "The Luckiest Minnow".

When I think of it, I think of myself somehow. I am not positive why God chose me, or why He has lovingly placed me in this world, this tank. Unlike the minnow, however, I am grateful. I am capable of thanking the Lord each and every day of my life for the chance to be born, to live, to be used for His purpose. It is a world with boundaries, much like the aquarium. Within those boundaries I can choose to wallow in self-pity about the hopelessness of things I cannot change, or to bloom where I am planted. I can choose to help make the world a better place, and sometimes I need God's help to realize how blessed I really am! The little things like traffic, mean people, or tragedy start to creep in, but feeling like I am being tested, I choose to think on the good things, the positive things, the things that bring joy, and let God handle the rest. After all, I desire for my heavenly Father to be pleased with me.......and I know full well when He isn't. Thank God we have a chance to start over every day, and trust God for our food, our protection, our provision, much like the minnows.

Have a very Merry Christmas and may God watch over you and protect you and richly bless you in 2006!

Sincerely,
Susan