Tuesday, April 30, 2019

5God Winks: The Father's Eyes


I was thinking about the gift of God’s presence when he gave me that sunrise (Present of Presence) and was reminded of another time he gifted me with his presence in such a special way that others could not believe my peace!


It was the previous fall.  I was very excited to be taking my dream horse, Dazzle, to the Parelli Center to participate in an advanced class with Linda Parelli.  I had had to ship her rather than transport her myself, but she was a good traveler so I was not concerned.

When I got to the house where I was staying, I was a little frustrated to learn that I had no cell reception but I figured I could take care of business when I was at the study center or in town each day.  I fell into bed and slept soundly awaking early enough to go into town for breakfast.

I had just gotten to the restaurant and ordered when I got an urgent call from the center.  Dazzle was found colicking when the crew fed that morning around 6am.  When I could not be reached, a vet had been called, been there and left.  I skipped breakfast and went straight to Dazzle.  I had experienced many cases of colic in my 40+ years of owning horses and all had resolved within a few hours of a vet giving the colic protocol of oil, banamine, and fluids; but by 10am Dazzle seemed no better.  I called the vet again and was told he would call me back.  After an hour and no response from that vet, I called a different vet.  It was now a little after noon. There was still not a lot of concern, but we did the protocol again and put her on an IV since dehydration from traveling was a possibility.  Late in the afternoon the vet suggested a blood draw but it could not get analyzed until the next day because it had to be sent out of town.  So it was decided, if she was still doing poorly in the morning, we would do it then so it would be fresh.  The vet tried to reassure me by saying that she had seen horses behave like this for days and still recover.

The Parelli Center staff—Ann and Jim Kiser, who were friends of mine—set up a scheduled so Dazzle could be watched around the clock and, if she took a turn for the worse, we could notify the vet immediately. I had the first watch.

It was about 11pm and I was sitting in a lawn chair…wrapped up in a blanket…alternating between weeping and praying.  I looked up through my tears into the night sky.  The clouds had parted in such a way that there was a face in the design and there—shining brightly—were two huge stars that seemed to me to be the eyes of God…and I knew beyond any doubt that God was watching and that he was with me and that regardless of what happened everything would be all right.

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭34:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬


Shortly after, Jim came to relieve me and I went to their house on campus to try to get some sleep.  Apparently, I did, because Ann had to wake me.  It was about 5:30am and she said Dazzle had taken a turn for the worse.  I hurried to get dressed and rushed to the paddock.  It could not have taken 10 minutes, but she was already gone.

Ann and Jim were besides themselves, but I felt a supernatural calm and peace and strength.  I actually consoled them as we waited for a skid steer to come a take her body.  She was buried under a tree beside a meadow, free to run in heaven.  (Yes I believe there will be horses in heaven, otherwise how could Jesus return on one?!)

“May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭119:76‬ ‭NIV‬‬


As I think back on that experience of God’s incredible presence and an event that followed where I was able to “preach” at the Savvy Summit (an annual event on the Parelli campus.  There were probably about a hundred people there), it was another huge step in God setting my heart free and creating a boldness to share his love and provision and care.

What about you?  Where are you today?  Do you know his love for you?  Are you going through a time of mourning or facing challenges that seem to be just too much? 

“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭33:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.””
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Trust God and do not be afraid.  He IS with you!  He WILL free your mustang heart if you will believe in him, trust him, and wait for him.



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Teri