I think we all remember our first paying job, and how we got it, whether if was the conventional way, or something a little crazy.
We lived outside of a small town in Montana. Our best friends lived in town, so for a short time, we boarded their horses for them in our corrals. Because the horses were pinned up in a small area, I would ride them on the days that our friends could not come and exercise the horses themselves. I would ride one around and meet up with a friend/neighbor, and after about thirty or forty minutes, I would come back and take the other horse for a ride, ending the day taking my own horse for a ride. Because I was switching horses, I did not take the time to saddle them up, and many times I didn’t even put a bridle on them. I would just grab them by their halter and lead, and off we went. On school nights we wouldn’t go too far, as my dad asked us to stay close enough for us to hear him whistle.
One day I was exercising our friend’s horse, ‘Mike’. We heard my dad whistle, so my friend and I galloped the horses back to the house. Mike loved to run back to the corrals, he knew that he would get a bucket of oats when I took his halter off. As we headed back to the corral, Mike started gaining speed. We came in WAY too hot. As I pulled back on his lead Mike did not respond. At the very last second, Mike the horse planted all four hooves, and stopped on a dime. The momentum flung me flying in the air. I grabbed a handful of his mane that caused my feet and legs fling over my head. The next thing I knew, I was standing on the ground starring eye to eye with the exhausted horse!
There was a gentleman with my dad who said, “She’s hired.” I had no idea what was going on. While I was out riding Mike, this man had seen all our horses at the house and asked my dad if he would be willing to train his 2-year-old horse. My dad explained to him that he had a bad back, but that he thought I would be able to ‘break’ or train his horse. The man thanked my dad, but said he wasn’t sure a young girl could handle his colt. When the man saw my totally accidental, but clearly impressive dismount, he decided to hire me on the spot.
That week the man’s horse, Star, was delivered to our house. He was the sweetest horse. For me, this was a dream job. I actually got paid to do something I loved.
If it hadn’t been for Mike the horse, the fact that he didn’t listen to me, and my unexpected crazy flip dismount, I would not have landed my first job. It’s amazing to think that when I ‘stuck the landing’ on my ‘dismount’, I landed my first job.
“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything- every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.” 2 Corinthians 9:8
