RIDING LESSONS

For the most part, I am not one to ask for help or even to expect it. I am not too sure about many things. I ask a lot of questions and do a lot of doubting about things, spiritual and temporal. My own "faith journey" is a rocky road, full of potholes and chasms.

Miracles? Well that IS asking a lot. If God won't get us to world peace, or at least enough food for all peoples, how can I expect Him to bother with the trivial little snags in my life? Except, I think (there I go doubting again) that He did just that.

Since my retirement, I have been able to realize a dream that I have had most of my life. "Real life" got in the way for many years, but at last it happened. I started a very small riding school. I have a stable of six to eight horses that I care for myself. I love being with the animals and the children; it is a good mix. Last summer I was told that I would need to have two major surgeries. Taking care of the horses and teaching would be out of the question for some time. Wow! That was not fair. So where was God when I needed a miracle; a healing perhaps? Well, He WAS there.

When I told the parents of my students that I would have to close down the barn, they did not hesitate for a second. They offered to take over the work, even though it would be for several months. I did not even ask … they offered, set a schedule and came out every morning to feed, turn out and clean stalls and paddocks. I watched from my window in awe. They didn't stop with the horses (and dogs and cats). They, along with others, many from The Church of the Good Shepherd, fed me, had myhouse cleaned, drove me to appointments and even helped me get those dang-blasted surgical stockings on and off. They did things that I didn't know I needed doing. One friend washed my feet when the stockings were changed. I was very humbled by that experience.

So what is a miracle? Maybe it is a huge sort of cosmic event like Saul/Paul experienced. I don't know because I have never experienced that. The miracles I experienced came wrapped in a still small voice, an outstretched hand, an offer of help, a smile, picking up horse poop, a willingness to get on one's knees and wash my feet. My "faith journey" still has lots of twists and turns, the same old doubts and questions, but the potholes and chasms seem not as deep and the road is a quite a bit smoother.

— Jill Campbell

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist