Conquerors

My Take

DiVoran Lites

When my brother and I were kids, in Colorado, Dad bought us a part-Shetland pony to ride. We called him, Yankee. He wasn’t as small as a regular Shetland, or as big as a quarter horse, but he was stubborn as all get out. My brother took to horses right away, he inherited it from, Dad, I guess, who was once an amateur race jockey.

We took Yankee up to the house from the feedlot to bridle and saddle him, but every time I got on, whoosh, Yankee trotted back to the feed-lot with me holding on to the saddle horn and trying to keep my feet in the stirrups. I only weighed about fifty pounds, and I was about to give up. Then one day Dad was there when we brought Yankee, and he saw what was happening to me. He didn’t blame the horse, though. He said it was my job to show Yankee what to do.  We started over.

Back at the house, Dad held the reins in a firm grip down close to Yankee’s mane as I got on. He then showed me how to grab a fistful of rein and a fistful of mane and hold tight. In other words, he showed me how to take control over the situation. Much to my surprise the horse stood until I gave him a nudge with my heels and eased up on the reins a little. I was no longer a victim.

What a great life lesson. In the book of Genesis, God says we have responsibility and dominion over the animals. In Romans 8:37 he says we are more than conquerors. Sometimes problems come and things seem out of our control. Nevertheless, I’ve learned an additional lesson from my Heavenly Father. With prayer and faith, we can tap into the power to conquer anything. What a relief to know that we are no longer victims, but conquerors.

Tags: Equestrian, Faith, Pony