Horsin' Around at Christmas
I guess if I’d admit it, I mark my year to year by Christmas rather than the New Year. After the Christmas season with all the family and friends, New Year’s Eve is more like the closing bell. It’s when I start concentrating on the next camp season, getting the horses ready, hiring staff and those sorts of things. I know the New Year’s celebrations are supposed to brace us and create anticipation for the coming year but honestly I’m usually still in a thankful, reminiscent state of mind when the calendar rolls over.
It’s the one time of year when we “try” to slow down and really appreciate what the season is about and fan the embers between us and the people that make our lives so joyful.
As I checked on all the horses in the pastures today, the wind was up and the sky was gray. The leaves have completely fallen now, revealing the abundant mistletoe in the trees in the paddocks.
I’m almost positive I saw Hollywood and Tesla kissing over the fence! It made me wonder what they would want for Christmas, maybe a big fat apple! If love and hugs is what they want, they already get plenty from our year around staff and me.
All the horses are furry with their winter coats. Ella and Dolly the twin Fjords look like the little brown, stuffed horses you see in the toy stores. But if it were a contest, Hollywood the black thoroughbred looks like she just came out of the dryer loaded with static cling!
It’s quiet around the barn except for the occasional gust of wind and the sound of the tractor as the staff carries out the daily barn chores.
Walking through the end of the barn that was already mucked I saw fresh bedding, fresh water and the smell of hay under the feed tubs. Winter is coming and it’s the time of year when we are stocking up on the things the horses will need during the cold months ahead.
There is bedding stacked to the ceiling, hay in the sheds and a fully stocked feed room. All the horses are happy and content. It is very satisfying to know you have provided comfort and protection to these wonderful animals that God has given us. As I reached the other end of the barn that had not yet been completed, I was immediately aware of the unmucked stalls, dirty water and smell that this produced. Being the Christmas season, my mind went to thoughts of a displaced couple who had to seek shelter in the same conditions.
Our God, the only true God chose to manifest himself through his Son, Jesus Christ in much the same conditions as I was looking at. He chose to confound the powerful and arrogant with a child born into squalor. It made me think, we are commanded to be like Christ and the very first lesson that God gave us was humility. If you want to impact another’s life, never forget the power behind a humble spirit. It may be but a moment for you but it can last a lifetime for someone else.
Merry Christmas from all of us at the Greystone barn!