Story Book Meadows Healing & Wellness Center

As I wake each morning and rise to start the day, my first steps are to the kitchen to let the five Jack Russells and Seth, the Doberman, out the door. They could be sound asleep, but in moments, they are jumping for joy and racing out the door to greet a new morning. I grab a snack bar and head out to feed the horses with the dogs gleefully running out of the yard in search of squirrels to chase up the trees. They battle each other to see who can get to the squirrels first. Their thoughts are on nothing more than what fun the new day is bringing into their lives. I laugh out loud over this silly routine which is exactly the same every morning whether it’s raining or sunny, warm or cold.

I smile as Chief and Rose greet me with whinnies in the pasture right beside the house. They are joined by Sasha and Timber as I head to the shed to get the golf cart and their feed. The sun is coming over the trees in Central Florida, as another gorgeous day is gifted to us from the Lord above.

I dump the feed into the bins on the fence and let the horses into their pens amongst their quiet nickers as they continue to tell me how happy they are to see me. Each horse gets a rub and a scratch as they move past me into their pens and they enthusiastically dive into the feed. I get back on the golf cart joining Seth who has claimed the passenger seat and head towards the back of the farm to feed the rest of the horses.

As I approach Hollywood, our grey stallion, I am in awe of his strength and beauty, watching him gallop along the fence line beside me, racing the golf cart to his outdoor shelter where he eats. He throws out a couple of bucks just to let me know he thinks he’s in charge. He is the loudest in singing out to me. His joy is so contagious I feel my heart swell with happiness and love for this moment of praise and thankfulness that I receive from all of those who are in my care.

My last stop is the back field where the quarter horses are pastured. I see them standing at attention from a distance watching me. Their anticipation of my arrival is shown in their body language. Their heads are high and their stance is alert as I approach. Then they relax knowing that my cart holds what they are waiting for; their grain. As they walk casually to their pens they start their chorus of nickering and whinnying telling me how happy they are that I’ve finally arrived. I dump the grain into their buckets and let them into their pens and the munching begins. There is nothing quite like the sounds of horses contently chewing on their food. To this farm girl, it is more comforting than any other sound in the world. It’s a time when you know that everything is right in their world, at least for that moment in time.

As I sit on the golf cart with two dogs on my lap and the other four sniffing around the trees, I realized that this must be how our God feels each morning when we, His children rise with praise and thanksgiving on our lips. He must smile when he hears us singing to Him in glorious song early at the start of each day. I’m sure it brings Him endless joy to see His children with happy hearts excited to greet the new blessings He is ready to bestow on us each morning. His mercy is new each day and He has given us the grace to do what we need to do for His glory and purpose. It is up to us to grab hold of those blessings and embrace them. Sometimes we let the complications of our daily lives interfere with the simple joy of just being alive. In our hurry to get everything done, we forget to enjoy each moment as it unfolds. We forget that He is always with us and His Spirit allows us to live in freedom from any and all of our problems. Though Satan will try to steal our joy with negative thoughts each morning, we need to hold on to His promises and trust Him, just as the horses trust me to arrive with their feed. My animals remind me each morning of the simple things that I am grateful for, and I thank Him for each one. We are all winners in this game of life when we remember to live humbly and simply.

There was a message to me from the ranch this morning. It was a message about gratitude and praise!