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Today, I want to talk to you about your actions, and I want to begin by asking you an important question. When it comes to your actions, are you proactive or reactive? I know, it's a rather odd question to ask. But let's face it, in spite of world events, most people don't give their actions (or the actions of others) a lot of thought unless something out of the ordinary happens to make them "sit up and pay attention". Recently, the terrorist attacks in Paris made world-wide news. No doubt, as we watched the news coverage and the video clips of the horrors that suddenly befell these people, we were touched deeply with sorrow. We grieved their loss, and perhaps we even remembered our own loss during 9-11. Whatever our thoughts, we would be hard-pressed to say that we were shocked. Why? Terrorist attacks are happening somewhere in the world almost daily now. And each day we awake to the threat and the promise of more terror. I am not a politicist, nor do I profess to know all the answers to the problems that now plague our world on a daily basis. But I do know one thing. As Christians, 1 Peter 1: 13 (see above scripture) tells us to keep our mind clear and ready for action. And how do we do that when it often feels as though the world is coming apart at the seams? We keep our mind clear and we are ready for action when we become proactive instead of reactive. Before we go further, let's take a look at horses.
Horses Are Hard-Wired
By Nature To Be Reactive
"Horses are 'reaction on four legs'. That's why, as riders, we must be proactive before the reaction happens."
(Susan Klaudt)
If you want a visual picture of what "reactive behavior" looks like, watch the behavior of an undomesticated horse. And why are undomesticated horses so reactive? I don't mean to be crude, but nature has hard-wired horses to be reactive in order to keep them from becoming someone's next smorgasbord! The same reaction to fear (flight or fight) that is present in feral or wild horses is also present in domesticated horses. The good news is, although we can never rid our domesticated horses completely of their prey instincts, we can train them not to give in to the reactive behavior that often follows those instincts. And how do we do that? We do it by offering our horse a better deal - a deal that calls for us to be proactive by teaching our horse to use the thinking side of his brain rather than the reactive side.
I ride proactively. That means that if
I even "smell" the slightest hint of distraction
or reactive behavior in my horse, I try to
head it off at the pass by immediately putting
his feet to work by giving him a job to do.
Since we know that horses are "reaction on four legs", it would be silly of us as horsemen and women to simply saddle up and hope for the best. Worse yet, it would be down-right negligent and border-line stupid to climb aboard one thousand plus pounds of "reaction" and not have a plan to be proactive! So, what does it mean to be proactive?
Basically, to be proactive means that instead of waiting for something to happen and then simply reacting to it, instead, we anticipate something happening, and we are ready and prepared for it when it does.
In other words, as pertains to riding horses, instead of waiting until our horse starts looking around and becomes reactive to a real or imagined spook, we become proactive by giving our horse a job to do which requires him to "think" rather than react such as trotting small circles, yielding the fore-quarters or hind-quarters, or even doing back-up exercises. When we're proactive (i.e. ahead of the game), then our horse learns to place his confidence in us as his leader. And the more confident our horse becomes, eventually the less reactive he will be.
As children of God, we are hard-wired to be proactive, not reactive!
"For who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach Him? But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ."
(1 Corinthians 2: 16, NLT)
I don't expect my horse, Samson, to be
proactive. Why? I know he is hard-wired by
nature to be reactive. To be proactive is my job.
So, how do we think proactively instead of reactively in a world seemingly gone amuck? For sure, past experience goes a long way in teaching us how to handle future situations better. However, the inherent problem with simply relying on past experience is, most of the time we can't afford another "bad experience" in order to learn another costly lesson! There's a better way. Our relationship to horses can give us a hint. As my horse's Master, I don't look to my horse and his experience to stay safe, no matter how much he knows. Instead, I rely on what I know. My horse cannot see (or understand) what lies around every corner, but I can foresee and understand what lies ahead because my mind has already gone there before him. How is that possible? It is possible when I think "proactively". It's the same for you and me on a much higher level when it comes to our relationship with God. We may not fully understand all the things that are taking place in the world today, or what lies ahead, but our Master does. Why? He is not restricted to time and space like we are. He is omniscient and ever-present. He is, indeed, the history maker. And the good news is, He always goes before us. We can also know what lies ahead. How is this possible? It's possible if we have the mind of Christ.
There is nothing that's taking place in our world today that God is not aware of. From the beginning, He saw you and me in this exact time and space. Furthermore, He knew the troubles that our world would face at this critical time in history, and He chose this time for you and I to be alive, and to witness the events we are now seeing unfold. Of course, the temptation that comes along with witnessing many of todays world events is the temptation to give in to fear. Just as fear does in a horse, fear often causes a knee-jerk reaction, and we're off and running. But in spite of what we see happening all around us, or our temptation to run in fear, God tells us to trust Him. How is that possible? Doesn't God know what is going on in our world?
Not only does God know, but He already knows the end from the beginning. And He has not left His children in the dark. Again, how is such a thing possible? It is possible because we have been given the mind of Christ! No longer are we defenseless and reactive, but we are now proactive. Remember, to be proactive is to anticipate or know what lies ahead, and to be ready for it when it does. We know what lies ahead because our Heavenly Father has already told us the future (our future) in His Word! The fact is, our story has already been written, and we know how our story ends! It ends with eternal life for you and me, and that, my friend, is proactive thinking at it's best. It's the kind of thinking that looks to the future, and says with bold confidence that only the redeemed can declare,
"My mind is clear and I am ready for action!"
PRAYER REQUEST FOR
SAMSON
My equine ministry partner, Samson, being
scoped for a persistent cough at U.T. Knoxville Veterinary Hospital in Knoxville, TN during
November, 2015.
Samson and I have been partners for many years. He will be 18 years old in 2016, and we've clocked more time together and hours in the saddle than some folks have been alive! Earlier this fall, Samson developed a cough that has been persistent. Since he is a horse that has never been sick a day in his life, nor had health problems of any kind, I confess I've been completely perplexed. And so I loaded him up in the horse trailer and drove him to my local vet a few weeks ago. By the time we got there, his breathing was not labored, but certainly more pronounced than usual. Keep in mind, this is a horse who doesn't labor to breathe even when he's galloping! The vet quickly did a blood test in order to take a look at his white blood cell count and look for any signs of an infection. The results came back normal, thank God! The vet then gave Samson a cortisoid type shot to help break up any inflammation that might be present in his lungs. The drug has a slow-release effect and will remain effective through this week. So far, there has not been much change, if any. And so I loaded Samson up once again this week and made the two hour trip to Knoxville's U. T. Vet Hospital where they have state of the art equipment to further assess and diagnose equine problems.
I'm happy to report that Samson was a super-gentlemen as we walked through the long halls to the clinic room, in spite of the strange surroundings, smells, and busy activities going on inside the vet hospital. With his head lowered, he willing walked right into the stocks, not to mention he loved all the attention from the Doctors and staff. I, on the other hand, stood by watching like a proud, albeit it, nervous mother, and was thankful we spent all that extra time this summer working on obstacles at the trainer's barn! To Samson, walking up on the weight scales and standing quietly was just another walk in the park. By the way, Samson weighed 1,268 pounds. Yeah, I know, time to go on a diet. After being mildly sedated, Dr. Sommerdahl inserted a plastic tube into Samson's throat to view his airway. His airway looked healthy, and no immediate cause of concern could be seen, although there was some mild inflammation. The next test involved drawing fluid from Samson's lungs which they would then look at under the microscope. Later that day, we made the long drive home and waited for the lab results to come back.
Finally, after nail-biting hours of waiting, the results showed everything normal with the exception, once again, of some mild inflammation. The final diagnosis wasn't immediately apparent, but the Vet said that onset age-related RAO disease (respiratory airway obstruction) is the catch-all phrase we will use to treat Samson accordingly. This means that his coughing and intermittent labored breathing may be related to airborne allergins outside in the field during this time of year (fall), or inside hay or shavings dust, mold, etc. If you have a horse with symptoms of RAO, it is extremely important to create as clean and dust-free an environment as possible for your horse. For me and my husband, Kim, it has meant a thorough cleaning of the barn, and taking extra precautions to wet Samson's hay and stall shavings each evening when he comes in. Of course, having said that, the nebulous causes could also be allergy related or bronchial in nature. What we do know is that this type of problem is often age-related. We also know that, just as it is in humans, it can manifest suddenly as a once in a life-time thing and go away almost as mysteriously as it came, or it can be seasonal, or it can even be the onset and beginning throes of a lifetime condition that will require special care and maintenance.
Whatever the case, I know that there is power in prayer. Samson has served me (and God) faithfully for many years, and I know He has been a tremendous blessing to many of you over the years through our horse ministry newsletter. For that reason, I hope that you will keep him in your prayers during this Thanksgiving season, and I'll be sure to keep you updated on his progress. Until next time, remember our God is faithful, and our best years are still ahead!
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