When Hope Comes in the Form of a Horse

It all started when I bought a horse sight unseen online. I needed a second horse to use with kids and youth in our farm ministry and I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me about this one, so I did it. His name was Ranger. Unfortunately, Ranger turned out to be absolutely explosive and terrified of people. You couldn’t catch him, lead him, or touch his face. He jumped at the slightest sound and had a lightning-fast kick reflex. I have worked with a lot of feral horses through the years, so I knew enough to see that Ranger’s reactions were not those of a wild horse who had not been around people. He had been brutally abused by someone, and he had a hair trigger. I thought I must have made a mistake about that Holy Spirit nudge. This was no kids' horse. And I did not have time to try to make him into one.

A while later while I was fundraising at a local church, I met Gloria* and her daughter Grace*. They were new believers and wanted to get involved with our farm ministry. Grace did her high school volunteer hours with us over the summer. In between shovelling manure and chatting about life, school, and friends, Grace fell in love with Ranger. It broke her heart when I said I did not think he could stay at the farm because he was not safe.

“Please don’t sell him!” she begged. “I know he wants to be a good boy. I just know it!” She asked if she and her mom could come out a couple times a week to spend time with him and work with him. Neither of them had any previous horse experience, but I agreed.

“I’ll show you one small lesson at a time to work on with him, but please don’t get your hopes up too high. I can’t make any promises.”

They started coming out a couple times every week, and then the bomb dropped in their family. Multiple bombs, actually. That fall and winter was one of the hardest seasons they had ever walked through. They had to leave the church where they had been saved, and Gloria lost both her mom and her grandmother within a few weeks of each other. To make things worse, Gloria’s work hours were cut back at the same time her husband was off a medical leave that would require surgery. They did not know how they would get by. Amid all of that, poor Grace was being bullied at school. It was truly a “walking through the valley of the shadow” season.

Through it all they kept coming to the farm. At the end of a long exhausting day, they would show up in the dark with bags of treats and carrots to “love on Ranger.”

“Guys, you don’t have to do this!” I would say to them, “I know how much you have going on in your lives right now!”

“No, please let us keep coming!” they would answer, “This is our safe place, and we really need to get away from it all.” I would give them long hugs and listen while they brushed Ranger and talked it all over.

And Ranger kept getting better and better. He learned to lead and tie, he let them brush his face and ears, he learned to pick up his front feet for cleaning, and then eventually his back feet. I showed them how to gently lay a saddle blanket across his back, wait for him to relax, and then remove it. Then one day they sent me a photo of a little friend of theirs sitting on his back while he was tied in the barn. I nearly had a heart attack! “Wow, guys, that’s awesome! Um…please get her down carefully!” I then showed them how to safely prepare him for carrying a human on his back.

Today, Ranger is an integral part of our ministry team. He spent eight weeks being surrounded by giggling girls in our “Horses and Self” emotional support group for teens. He was painted and braided and hugged and smothered with love. He carries tiny tots on pony rides. He even teaches riding lessons. Grace and her mom are so proud that they saved him from having to be sold or put to sleep. But that’s not the real miracle…

The real miracle is that months and months before all hell broke loose in their lives, God knew that Grace and Gloria were going to need Ranger. The Holy Spirit tapped on my heart and had me buy a terrified and traumatised horse so that He could help Gloria and Grace through their own fear and trauma in the dark season ahead. So, this Advent season, when we meditate on HOPE, we don’t mean the flimsy hope of human positive thinking. We mean the HOPE that comes from trusting in the Person of Jesus Christ. The One who has already gone ahead of us into the darkest seasons of our lives and made provision for us. The One who will still be holding us by the hand when we walk out the other side into the sunshine again. That is our Saviour, the HOPE of the world!

Today Gloria’s work hours have increased, her husband has had his surgery, and she has walked through that first hard year of grief, missing both her mother and grandmother. Grace and Gloria have plugged into new local church and Grace is doing great in high school. She has been through the mental health group and volunteers at the farm regularly, helping other kids and youth. She proudly informed me this week that she has four school friends who are interested in hearing more about Jesus! Praise the Lord! …and thanks, Ranger.

* names are changed for privacy purposes.

Advent reflections shared by Aimee Heyer, a Next Gen Urban worker with Mission Canada.