"Well, she chose it, I gave her the best I could". As the Trainer shut and latched the back of the trailer his heart sank within him. After 11 months or working with a young mustang mare, it was decided to return her to the BLM. He had been her third trainer, and she had been the first mustang that decided to be untouchable under His guidance.
She came out of the Nevada wilderness, bony and wild with little shine left in her eyes. Her first experience with mankind up close was a chaotic one, a world of confusion, slamming gates, sweat and cuts. It was the better choice for her, but to her, it seemed counteractive and hypocritical.
The first trainer to handle her came off tolerable at the surface, but once the mare reached the new training grounds she found her trainer to be a religious zealot as it relates to training. He had been taught one way and that, in his fire and brimstone mind, was the only way to train a horse. He was harsh, she was not allowed to doubt, wonder or ask questions at all. Just submit. But she had a wild, rebellious spirit, given to her in order to survive the wilderness, and she used it now to show her trainer that his closed mindedness had no control over her. As time went on she became more out of control and he selfishly decided he ought to pass along the stubborn mare as to not hurt his own reputation.
Round two seemed glorious at first glance, but the mare only found herself confused in the end. Her first few days she roamed the new pasture at free will, eating green grass and racing around. The new 10 acres seemed familiar. It was the nearest she had been to her original creation since before her supposedly beneficial capture. Between great lulls of time her new trainer would come out and ask a little of her, but with a wild foot forward she was able to push her trainer into a corner and convince him that staying back would always be the best option for them both. Weeks went by and her free will grew a little less satisfying with grass being eaten past its roots and half empty troughs only supplying her with green water beneath a layer of yet brighter green growth. Her hooves now ached, her ribs were showing and she could only stand slightly comfortable if she stood with a backward lean. There was no peace, although free will was plenty. The fence holding her in could have fallen over, but she still would not have successfully been able to move forward without some guidance. Yet one morning as she lay slowly breathing a graceful image seemed to coax her up. She drug her hooves forward as she was asked to load and then merely collapsed again in the trailer.
Round three was about to begin. It was her best chance by far. Her new trainer spoke with a gentle voice. He didn't ask her to stand up, He commanded it, yet with a softness and patience in His voice. She had never experienced the two hand in hand. She seemed to have hope rise within her as she lifted her emaciated body. As weeks passed she saw her trainer every day, even on days she would rather be left alone, He was present. Some days He asked things of her, He asked her to trust, He asked her to listen and to learn and He gave her chance after chance after chance. A soft light returned to her eyes, stronger then the day of her capture. For a minute, she was captivated by this new Trainer. She wanted to know Him more. But she decided to not look any farther, she decided to not trust. He allowed her to ask as many questions as she wanted, as many times as she wanted. He abounded with grace and patience. Sometimes it looked as if she would trust and try to understand, but ultimately it was her who decided to walk away.
Her trainer decided that after nearly a year of reaching out to her, He had to return her to the BLM. No more short term corrals, no more trainers, good or bad. Her chance had passed and she would only roam the long term pastures now. And while in someways it was appealing, she would never know the satisfaction of becoming one creation and moving in step with her Trainer.
Is it the same story with us? As it relates to religion that is? It seems in this world we either have people in our lives who are cramming their religious views down our throats or people who claim to be "praying for us" but that is the only Godly guidance they give us, if they actually DO go pray for us that is. Then we get to the point, that real religion comes along... a true relationship with God is offered to us, someone comes to our life who is not forceful and not fake, someone who truly represents God, but we have been so exhausted by the false religion in our life that we don't want to attempt to take hold of what is true.
We all need to keep ourselves in check in SO many ways (ME included). Are we stuck in a religious form that we only stick to because it is what we know and then we try to force others to believe it but don't really know why? Are we comfortable going to church and smiling nicely, telling people we are there for them and praying for them when we really don't? Or on the other side of the story, are we giving up on who Jesus really is because to us He has been severely misrepresented in our lives so now we miss it all together? If your representing your King wrong, check yourself and get realigned. If you have been on the crazy receiving end, don't give up. He is really out there. Don't walk on by because there will be a day that you will never be able to come back to that place of knowing Him and His heart will sink. HE is not the one that is sending you to long term pastures, it's your choice.
Working with the Good Trainer is an opportunity you don't want to miss. He offers so many freedoms and yet gives certain boundaries to help you. Imagine training your horse without boundaries. Raising your child without rules? They have to be there to guide right? That's why God has set boundaries for us too. Yet those boundaries never seem to restrict at all. There is amazing freedom with Him.
And if you are to the point that you doubt there is a Good Trainer out there at all, go look at your child, or the thing you hold most dear, look at the creation around you. Look at the details. Are we really going to write that off to chance? Evolution? Even if there was a big bang... someone had to create the particles that caused the bang. But it goes beyond that. It is choosing to have faith that will bless your soul more than all else. Imagine if the mare tired one more time to trust.
God's is so real. He adores you. He's a Good Trainer. Take His lead.
A good trainer sets expectations and then gives choices, never forces.
So now He is asking you to choose.
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