Fairly Unwound.

Everyone heard it coming. There was a pause in the air and a lifting of heads and ears. Those who are there every year knew who had just arrived. A sense of joy and peace that these summer festivities usually bring seemed to quickly evaporate as if dew into the hot morning air.

The bangs, screeching, whinnying, and side to side sway of the trailer came to prove that the high strung mare had once again arrived to take her stance among other four legged 4H competitors. Not only did she possess this tightly wound attitude, but even more so did her owners, acting as if everything was a burden or a chore and needed only to be done with quick seriousness. As the family unloaded the mare and her equipment, everything was done so task oriented that not a glance was made at the crowd who, moments before, were laughing and decorating stalls together. It was their favorite summer tradition every year. One onlooker even bravely emerged from the crowd to greet the family and their bossy competitor, only to be given a cold shoulder casting him off as a waste of time. This family was tightly wound. Every year has been the same. Not only did the joy cease in their family due to the lack of peace, but they seemed to have a black hole effect, draining the joy of others around them whether they knew it or not.

This year, this tightly wound equine had a stall next to one of the largest, most steadfast Quarter Horses known in the area. Through the evening the mare kicked and yelled, and then it stopped... to a point that the campers were alarmed, wondering if something had happened to the mare. A few campers bravely went into the barn... only to find the Quarter Horse resting his chin on the top of the Mare's head. And she merely just stood there. She had peace.

These two things, peace and unrest, can be so contagious can't they? This sweet mare was merely falling victim to the cancerous attitude around her, as horses often do.

We are guilty of the same thing in our personal lives.

At times we get so driven we don't realize we CAN slow down, and if we try, it just doesn't seem normal because we have been so driven for so long that we just continue back in our unrest because it's what we know.

But peace is SO good once we let it settle in and we let some childhood joy back in our hearts.

Believe it or not... that IS what God wants for us. Even if there is chaos going on around us. We will never get there though, unless we allow Him to speak to us and show us this.

"Ministry" is not always about being program based and driven, but it is more often than not about being in each moment and ministering there. We need to not be so busy that we miss the ministry opportunities in front of us with family... or... the onlookers, the crowd around us. Are we giving them the cold shoulder and not even realizing what we're doing?
You deserve peace, they deserve peace... and God IS peace.

Let Him rest His chin on top of your head, and just stand there... soak it in... and then share it.