Growing up in Montana, most of my fondest memories revolved around our horses. Our parents wanted to teach us the best way to learn how to love people and animals; they figured the best way was to raise, break, show, and train Shetland Ponies to pull a cart. My two older sisters both trained and showed these Shetland ponies, Penny and Twinkles. One day, Twinkles crawled through the fence and was running around in the woods behind our house. My oldest sister saddled up her horse, and I jumped on the other pony, Penny, to go search for the missing Shetland. I didn’t take the time to put a saddle or even a bridle on the pony, I just slid a halter on her head, and went out to follow the illusive pony. My sister saddled up her other horse, and followed shortly.
We searched the woods, and sure enough, we saw a glimpse of the dappled pony running through the trees. One of the reasons I was riding the other Shetland, was to be able to follow that deceptive pony where ever she might go. Penny and I took off after the loose pony, who did not want to be caught. Although I had a halter on the pony, she did not have a bit in her mouth to control her or a bareback pad or saddle to help me hang on. We were right on that sneaky pony’s tail, winding in and out of the trees, as fast as those little ponies could go. Suddenly I saw Twinkles drop her head and run under a low hanging branch. I didn’t have time to think, or stop, so I just ducked down as far as I could. I greatly misjudged the situation, and suddenly, I was ‘clotheslined’! I felt like a cartoon character that hit a branch, and in slow motion swinging around and over and under that branch. The next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground, 2 ponies staring down at me, with blood coming out of my mouth. Apparently I had taken the branch on with my mouth and that branch ‘de-cleated’ me from the pony’s back. My sister came over, grabbed the two ponies, and rode home as fast as she could to get my dad. As I was laying on the ground, counting the little stars circling my head, my dad threw a mattress in the back of the pickup truck, and came to get me. My sister had told me not to move, then told my dad that there was a lot of blood, so he had prepared for the worst. My dad took me to the doctor, where they removed some wood chips from my top lip. I was extremely lucky the extent of my injuries were confined to my mouth. As the day progressed, my upper lip swelled until it touched my nose, I looked like a duck. Trying to cheer me up, my dad kept quacking at me, and trying to get me to quack back at him, or at least laugh.
It appeared that although I thought I had ducked down far enough, instead I turned into a duck!
Although I was a mess, I looked horrible, with bloody swollen lips, and doing the worst impression of a duck on the outside, inside I had the assurance that I would be taken care of. The Lord is there for each and everyone of us, He will take care of us, and renew us day by day.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16
