By Kennedy Waycaster Cook and Carisa Hooks
This fall, we had a friend that had an immediate need to move her horse, Roscoe!
We offered to let him board with our other horses. When we heard the news of this gray gentle giant, we were entirely unexpected of the strenuous labor it would require bringing him home.
We were unable to help due to truck problems and gave her some numbers of people that could help her haul him to our home. Labor Day the haulers arrived. We were ready with a clean stall waiting . As the haulers pushed and begged for him to get into the trailer to go to his new home, he panicked. He fell into the edge of the trailer, face first.
Roscoe’s facial bone remnants lay on the ground, and the gash below his eye rested open. The vet recommended taking him to an equine hospital, but even with severe sedation he would not get on the trailer. A plan was made to try and get him to our farm the next morning via a local equine rescue. Unfortunately, for liability reasons, the plan could not go forward.
The professional hauling company admits to never experiencing anything like it prior. The haulers called us and shared that he was one of the hardest horses that they had ever tried to load. We could not imagine what a difficult time we were going to have! Hurricane Helene shut down our business and gave us the time we needed to get him comfortable in the trailer. His face was wrapped up like a mummy and oozed when the halter gave too much friction.
Thirteen grueling hours over a period of 3 days to load this draft mix into the horse trailer.
It took one session to get him to lead willingly. It took another session to get him to be interested in the trailer and go up to it. The final session he sniffed, pawed, and put his front feet on and off a million times. Finally, he went on and we drove him home.
It makes you wonder, would a horse panic and resist loading on a trailer if they knew what promise lands could await them? What trails of exploration and enjoyment? If only they could calm their heart and mind long enough to take that next step peaceably.
Unbeknownst to him, Roscoe was heading to the most loving home. He would be overfed, play in the field with his friends, loved on by children, blanketed from harsh weather, and have his own spacious, cozy, clean stall.
This was a haven awaiting on the other side of his short journey.
Friend, what waits for you on the other side of intimidating opportunities?
Instead of wallowing in your fear, what if you accepted that the unknown could be full of potential promise lands? Full of divine appointments? Overflowing with purpose?
The psalmist wrote, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalms 119:105)
What we often forget in the cultural context is that the psalmist’s literal lamp was a tiny, oil-filled, clay lamp that only lit his very next step. It didn’t light the entire path, or a big room. It didn’t reveal all the potential trials, tribulations, or frustrations.
God only simply revealed his next step.
Roscoe, maybe like yourself, wasn’t aware of what could await him on the other side of walking through that door. As many of us would, he panicked, and it resulted in unnecessary, self-inflicted harm and discomfort.
As we head into 2025, I ask you to ponder what opportunities of growth and purpose await you on the other side of simply taking a chance, a next step.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
So friend, close your eyes, take a deeper breath, and walk boldly forward to the plan God has written for you; promise lands of purpose on the other side of intimidating opportunity.
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