Story Book Meadows Healing & Wellness Center

This is my story. For those of you who know me well, you know I suffered a bad head injury in August of 2003. A horse trailer drop down window dropped down on my head causing a compression of the C-5 vertebrae of my neck. For months I was fuzzy, incoherent and unable to do my daily chores of looking after 40 horses on my thoroughbred farm. Then on December 24th of that same year I was riding (you can’t keep a horse woman on the ground) when my horse let out a huge buck (my error) and I endured a total whiplash. The pain of all 44 muscles in my neck being torn (I was unable to hold up my head without support), was indescribable. So I took a lot of pain meds and had to close down my business. By selling part of our farm in 2005 and rebuilding on our existing acreage, the next two years went by in a blur of constant work I couldn’t do, pain, non-stop chiropractor appointments and several trips to neurologists to try to find relief from my neck injuries.

Although the whiplash had healed, I was always in pain, sometimes severe enough that I would spend days on the couch with ice packs, and other times just an annoying ache that never really went away. I couldn’t lift anything anymore (this coming from a woman who could unload 40 bags of feed from her truck alone in about 5 minutes), I couldn’t clean stalls or hammer boards or do any of the things I’d always done around the farm. I could no longer lead a thoroughbred because if they pulled, my right shoulder and neck could not take the strain and I would have to let them go. I couldn’t ride anymore because the pain would last for days afterwards. I had spent hours and hours going for chiropractic treatments and thousands of dollars to get relief that would only last a day or two but never really got to the problem. The neurologist said my neck was perfectly normal for a 48 year old. (I looked at him and wondered how any doctor could say that with a straight face to someone in as much pain as I was). I spent thousands of dollars more on acupuncture treatments that would help ease the pain enough that at least I could do normal daily chores. But the worst of this journey of injury and pain was the depression.

As a Christian, I knew my hope was in Christ but I had to wonder where He was. Each morning I would wake up with severe depression and tears running down my face. I would pretend everything was okay to get through the day but the hopelessness endured. Through all of this, I could hear God’s calling for me to start a ministry with horses and I tried. I would take the steps of obedience but the depression would catch up with me. I thought it was hormone imbalance, I thought it was from the pain. I thought I could just read God’s Word and get over it, but it was still there each morning. I asked the doctor for help and they prescribed anti-depressants which I threw away. I knew that wasn’t the answer. I spent many sleepless nights watching the clock all night long getting no sleep at all then having to go through the next day. I put on several workshops and welcomed guests to the ranch having had no sleep at all the night before. I went to the doctor for help and they prescribed sleeping pills. I tried those because I was desperate to get some sleep but they didn’t keep me asleep through the pain throbbing in my neck. So I went back to the doctor and explained they weren’t working because of the pain and they prescribed Celebrex for pain. So I took them and the pain was reduced enough to sleep but my stomach got upset and my depression worsened. I could no longer welcome friends to my home because I never knew when I would have a good day or a bad day. My husband stood by me and took on all of my work through those trying times but he never truly understood what I was going through. Neither did friends and family. There were days I no longer liked myself.

I was ready to quit so many times. I wanted to close down Story Book because I couldn’t do it alone in this state of health. But I could hear God telling me NO that there were trials we had to endure and our faith had to grow. He was with me yet I couldn’t always find Him. So I spoke words of defeat and felt defeated all the while knowing I still believed Jesus would deliver my healing. But I am not a patient person so I would study patience knowing that was my lesson to be learned at His feet. So instead of quitting Story Book, I signed up with iPEC Coaching to become a Life Coach knowing I wanted to help others with the trials they would go through. I wanted to be equipped to Empower, Engage and Evolve others through the teaching of the horses and the Holy Spirit here on the ranch. I struggled through the training still in pain and with cloudy thinking many days. I knew I couldn’t go any further until I found the healing that Jesus promised each of us.

Previously I had begged for healing, I had cried, I had been very pitiful. But this time I got on my knees and told God I was angry at him. He could heal me but He wasn’t. At 51 was my life really over? Was this all that was left for the rest of my life? I wanted a miracle. I wanted the parting of the Red Sea. I wanted my life back. I wanted to use the horses to help people. I wanted to share the Blessings God had given me with others. But I needed healing first.

But His miracles never come about in the way that we expect. And my miracle was there waiting for me all the time through all those years of pain and suffering. He just had to lead me there in His timing. In May of 2009 we had started holding Fellowships at the Pond through our church and because of that gathering I met another wonderful Canadian woman, Micheline, who had also had a neck injury falling off a horse a few years ago. We bonded, as people who have shared in the same type of suffering do, and became friends. Over the next year we shared our stories of attempted healing with chiropractors and she continued to look for an answer. Her symptoms were somewhat worse. Although she wasn’t in the pain I was in, she would suffer seizures and stroke like symptoms and her life, like mine was unpredictable because we couldn’t count on our health. Then one day she told me about a different type of chiropractor, one that was trained in NUCCA which is the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association. She went for a free consultation and found out that this technique involved adjusting the C-1 Axis (the top bone of the vertebrae) and that once it was adjusted, the rest of the spine just fell into place. It sounded too simple to be true. So she went for her initial x-rays to see where her neck was deviated. When the chiropractor studied the measurements of her C-1 he found she was out and twisted by 1 1/2 degrees. He adjusted her while I watched and I observed Micheline’s miracle. By moving and untwisting her C-1 that little amount, the pressure was taken off the nerve and she has since not been back for another treatment and has not had another seizure. She bought a motorcycle and is now living her life to the fullest!

With new hope in my heart, I booked an appointment for myself. When he took x-rays of my C-1 he found it twisted to the right (where I carried all of my pain) by 8 1/2 degrees and also twisted up on the left side so I was not level. Whether it was the trailer door falling on my head, the whiplash, the time I fell off a motor scooter and got knocked out without a helmet on, the fall off a galloping horse when I was in my twenties and got knocked out again with no helmet on or the very first bad fall off a horse when I was sixteen, I don’t know how the bone in my neck moved so far. But with a ten minute adjustment and a day of reaction to the bone moving that far back into alignment, I was finally free of pain. The C-1 bone is the base of the brain stem so not only was it realigned to relieve the pain, but the cloudy thinking, the depression and the inability to reason at times was also completely healed. It has now been two weeks since my miracle. Dr. Thomas has been in business for years. He was there all along. It just took God’s intricate leading to get me to his office.

HOW AMAZING IS OUR GOD? I want to dance in the streets and yell from the mountaintops that I am healed. I will have my life again and continue the calling on my life using horses to help people find truth. I’m sure I’ll knock that bone out again, but now I have the answer to put it right back in.

If you have suffered with neck pain or injury, please don’t hesitate to go and see Dr. Thomas. He is a Christian who is working God’s miracles on a daily basis. His office number is 352-245-6169. His procedure is very non-evasive and gentle.

As for me, I’m ready to go forward with God’s Ministry here at the Ranch. There is a miracle just around the corner for each and every one of us. It just takes faith, truth and persistence to watch it manifest in your life. NEVER GIVE UP, there is always hope. Watch for future emails and blogs about upcoming events, workshops and ways to help at-risk teens here at Story Book Meadows.

We love you all,

Trish & Gary

We are very grateful and excited to receive our first grant money from the United Way Endowment Fund. This funding will go towards Equine Assisted Counseling programs for at-risk teens within Marion County. The programs are experiential using horses to help youth manage emotions and change behaviors while having fun in a peaceful ranch setting. If you know of any teens needing Counseling for Anger Management, Social Skills and Behavioral Modification, please have them contact us for information on qualifying for these programs.

God is so faithful in moving this ministry forward and bringing the right people on board to help with our programs. Keep an eye on our website for the opportunity to participate in some of our adult programs in the coming year. And please, give generously to the United Way who uses their funds for local helping agencies.

We wish everyone who is a part of this ranch a wonderful Christmas Season and prosperous New Year.

Blessings to all,
Trish & Gary

I recently finished reading the fiction series by Karen Kingsbury about the Baxter family. Her writing about family relationships is amazing and so thought provoking. I learned a lot from her 10 novels in the series and would recommend them to everyone wanting to see how a faith filled family lives everyday life. In the final book “Forever” the character sent each of her children a letter giving them her advice on marriage. In the busyness of everyday life it is easy to forget these simple steps to loving each other and I wonder how many couples would find their marriages filled with abundant love if they followed this advice. To read the entire story, look for the books in the Redemption Baxter Series and the First Born Baxter Series.

TEN SECRETS TO A HAPPY MARRIAGE

1.  God has you here to serve one another. Love acted out is serving.

2.  Women need respect and nurturing. Love your wife so she knows you’d lay your life down for her. Continue to date her and admire her. Share a hobby — find something you can do to have fun together.

3.  Laugh often.

4.  Be patient. Love crumbles quickly under the weight of unmet expectations.

5.  Spend more time trying to fix yourself than your spouse.

6.  Keep short accounts. The Bible says, “Do not let the sun go down while you are angry.” Make it a habit to forgive.

7.  Determine up front that divorce is not an option.

8.  Learn about love languages. Not all people show love or receive it the same way. You want a back rub and your spouse wants a clean kitchen. The love languages are fairly simple: acts of service, time, physical touch, gifts, and words of affirmation. Learn them. Love is better received when it’s in the language that person speaks.

9.  Words of affirmation are a love language for all men.

10.  Men are born to be leaders. He cannot lead unless she gives him the confidence to do so. If you love your husband, build him up. Confident men do not seek love outside the home.

Blessings to all,

Trish

It was her second visit to the ranch. When she arrived she bounced into the barn to say hi and asked if she could bring Noah in. Her enthusiasm was contagious.  Since I was cleaning some stalls, I told her it would be better if she grabbed a brush and lead rope and took Noah out of his paddock and cleaned him up outside. Her smile was huge as she agreed with my plan. Her grandmother was just walking into the barn so I explained what we had decided. The little girl who had just turned four ran out of the barn calling Noah’s name.

Noah and his friend

She was such a sweet child and the last time she’d been here she had overcome all of her fears around the large horses and had fed them carrots. Her greatest joy had been grooming Noah, our little miniature horse. With much fear and hesitation she had learned to lead Noah around the yard. At the end of her first visit she had given me a hug and told me she loved little Noah. My heart had melted with her words. Here on the ranch she had found a new friend and all she had talked about was her new four legged friend.

I helped her take Noah out of his paddock and away from his donkey friends. She immediately started grooming him and giving him kisses. She told him how beautiful he was and that she had missed him. There was no sign of the fear she had overcome at her last visit. Noah of course kept eating grass. When she finished brushing Noah, she took the lead rope out of my hand and announced it was time for his walk. I chuckled with his grandmother and asked her where she wanted to go. She quite confidently started leading him down the driveway and said “Home”. I walked beside her and explained that Noah lived here with his two friends, Matthew and Nicholas, and he wouldn’t be happy if she took him home with her. She stopped and looked at me, then at Noah and said if she couldn’t take him home, could she visit him again? I told her that he would be honored to have her visit him regularly. So once their walk was completed and Noah was led into his stall, the little girl gave Noah a huge hug and said “I’ll be back soon.”

When she walked back to the car she had the biggest smile on her face. She wasn’t sad to be leaving but overjoyed that she would be able to come back. She was about to get into the car with her grandmother when she stopped and came running back to me. Her face was very solemn as she looked up at me and asked, “Can I hug you?” I was choked up as I bent down to her level and said “That would be the best thing ever”. She squeezed me so tight I was amazed at her strength, then she let go and ran back to the car and got into it. We were waving as the car drove down the driveway.

I looked up at the darkening sky and said, “Thank you Lord, for giving me this opportunity to bless that child and receive such wondrous love”. As I walked away, I hoped our pint sized horse would continue to bring that little girl joy.

May the love of Christ be with you always,

Trish & Gary

Fawn

Yes, that is a fawn in the horse stall. Isn’t she the most beautiful baby?

I was driving in the golf cart alongside Whisper, our thoroughbred race horse, who is training to go back to the track. Normally I follow beside her as she is ridden down the lane way at the center of the ranch on the way to the race track in the woods, but this morning I was day dreaming and ended up following the driveway to the back barn. When I realized I was not with the horse, I chose to go the other route to the race track, behind the barn and down the east perimeter fence line. As I drove past the manure pile and headed down the hill at the back I noticed something round and brown lying on the grass about 20 feet out from the wire perimeter fence. I thought for a moment it was a strange colored turtle, but the shape wasn’t right. As I drove the golf cart some 10 feet away from this brown object that was all curled up, I noticed the white dots patterned on her back. It was obviously a baby deer. So far she hadn’t moved and I didn’t know if she was dead or alive. I stopped the cart and stepped out. She picked up her head, took one look at me and ran. As she ran towards the wire fence she gave out the most heartbreaking cry. Somewhere between a calf bellowing and a high pitched squeal. I watched her bump into the fence with her head, then run along side it towards the woods. Then she collapsed in a heap on the ground about 50 yards away and curled up again.

I had a lot of knowledge about baby horses and the habits of mares and foals since I’d spent five years breeding and foaling well over 40 mares, but I had absolutely no knowledge of deer and their babies. I looked around wondering if Mom was somewhere in the woods looking at me but I couldn’t see her. I thought about my five Jack Russel’s and the doberman who would either chase this sweet baby to death or possibly grab her and kill her if they found her. It was obvious to me that the mother had fawned the baby within our ranch grounds and she had jumped out over the fence but her baby could not follow her. She was probably no more than a few weeks old. I didn’t know if her mother would come back for her but I felt she was not safe out in the open when our dogs were running loose.

So I jumped on the golf cart and drove beside her again. This time when she jumped up and tried to run she cornered herself beside a large log lying next to the fence line. I was able to pick her up in my arms and firmly hold her while she struggled for a few moments and bellowed a few more times. It was such a disturbing sound and I knew she was terrified. I spoke softly to her and stroked her head as I carried her back to the golf cart.

I rode with her to the front barn to put her in a stall because I still had to go to the track to watch Josey gallop the mare. As I drove to the barn, I continued to pet her and talk to her and she settled comfortably in my arms. I looked down at her perfect spots and I knew God had given me a once in a lifetime opportunity to hold a wild animal. I was sure I’d never again feel this overwhelming sense of wonder of something as beautiful as the fawn I was holding. As I gazed at her small black, slightly pug nose, her tiny split toe hooves and her big brown eyes, I was totally besotted. Then I looked at her coat and the perfect rows of spots dotted on the soft brown fur. It was like God had taken an artist paint brush and put each spot in a precise pattern along her back. I was in awe of the total perfection of this creature. Though I see the beauty of His work daily around the ranch, this was like an awakening. It was as though He wanted to gently remind me of His amazing creations and His almighty power by dropping this little one right in my lap. And I was so thankful. It was a precious moment, a blessing. I thought about those who don’t believe in our Creator. I thought about some young people I know who believe in the Evolution theory and all that science has to offer in their small explanations. And I wondered how anyone who could look at this tiny perfect creature and her tiny perfect spots could truly not believe in a huge and Almighty God, and the love He has for all of His creatures.

I wanted to keep her so badly but I wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do. In my mind I was figuring out where I could build a fenced in area for her to grow up and wondered if she could just go out with Noah and the donkeys once she was older. I’d seen lots of photos people had taken of deer with their horses. I put the baby in a horse stall at the barn and drove back out to watch the horse gallop. Once we were finished with Whisper, I checked on my own little Bambi and saw that she was lying down curled up in a ball again. I went into the house and looked up on the internet to find out what to do with her.

First, the article said put her back where she was so that her mother would come back for her, unless something had happened to the mother. It said they will leave their babies for up to 12 hours at a time to go off and eat and the babies are not supposed to move from the spot where they are left. I had to wonder how the mother could possibly communicate that to her baby and how something so young would listen to her. With horses, the mare was always near the foal or at least could see it. So this was a totally different set of rules. But I was still worried about the fawn’s safety on our side of the fence because there was no way she could jump out until she was a few months older. So I would never know if she would be left alone where the dogs could find her again. I saw there was a number to call at the bottom of the page. I spoke with a woman who helped explain their natural habits. She said the fawn needed to be returned to the spot I found her although I could put her up to 50 feet away. She needed to stay in the same vicinity because the mother would be coming back for her as long as she could find her. She said the fawn would not move from that spot. I told her my concerns about my dogs and that I thought it might be better to put her over the fence and into the woods on the other side. I didn’t think my neighbors had dogs that would go over there and at least this way the baby wouldn’t be stuck on my ranch. So the woman told me to put her over the fence and check on her until night time to see if she was still there.

So Gary and I went out to the stall prepared to put her back. As I went into the stall she jumped up and again tried to run from me. She hit the wall a few times until I was able to put my arms around her again. She cried another few times then settled down. Gary took my picture holding her as I stroked her back again. I really wanted to keep her but I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do and that her mother was probably frantic by now. The woman I spoke to said the doe had probably been watching her baby from a spot in the woods. So after taking her picture we rode on the golf cart back out to the place I had found her. While I held her in my arms Gary climbed over the fence and found a spot under a tree that was only about 40 feet from her original location. As I was about to pass her into Gary’s arms, she turned her head, and with her big brown eyes she looked at me and licked my arm. My heart melted and I gave her head a kiss. I prayed God’s blessings upon her and passed her to Gary. She bellowed again as he held her and squirmed to be free. I was a little concerned that she would run when he let her go and her mother would never find her but once Gary set her down under the tree and hopped back over the fence, she just sniffed the ground and her surroundings, circled and settled back down to wait. We wondered if she would be safe there but figured we’d come back and check on her in a few hours. Another interesting thing the woman at the wildlife number had told us was that fawns have no scent so predators cannot find them. I wondered if that is why my dogs had not found her where she’d been lying that morning.

Several hours later we decided to see if she was still there. Once we got to the spot we could see that she was gone. “Did Mom come back or did she wander off?” I said. We climbed the fence and smiled when we saw larger deer prints all around the tree. Sure enough her mother had returned to pick up baby and they had gone off together. I was happy and sad at the same time. I wondered if I would ever see her again. I wondered if she would tell her Mom about her exciting ride on a golf cart and how she’d spent an hour in a horse stall.

I felt so blessed that God had given me that short time with one of His precious animals. I knew that it was a moment in time that I would always remember and I wondered if it was a moment the fawn would remember too.

There was a message to me from the ranch that day. It was a message about God’s precious love.

The other morning I was in high gear as usual trying to make the bed, tidy up the house, vacuum the kitchen, put the laundry on and get outside before 8 am to train Whisper, our thoroughbred filly who is getting ready to go back to the track. While in this whirlwind state I picked up a couple of  Benadryl tablets, a tiny magnet stuck to a small band aid and some used tissues off my night table. Then I wandered from place to place doing four things at once until finally getting my first cup of tea, I stopped to take a breath. As I drank the tea I thought to myself  “Now where did I set down that magnet?” The tiny magnet was about the size of a small pea and gold plated. It was given to me by my chiropractor about two weeks  ago to treat my right thyroid. I have been told by at least three doctors that my adrenals were not functioning right and have been taking supplements for that for over a year. But even with all the supplements I have still been feeling tired, not sleeping well and having a foggy brain in the mornings. Until my chiropractor (a wonderful Christian with all kinds of treatment tricks up her sleeve) determined it was not my adrenals but my right thyroid. When she first told me, I informed her that my blood tests had shown normal T3 & T4. Through her simple test she determined my left thyroid was probably working overtime because my right thyroid was not functioning. She told me to put the magnet on my right thyroid at night and see if I felt better over the next few months. I thought it was a waste of time but after using the magnet for two weeks, I finally felt as though I was healing. I haven’t had a morning fog since I first put on the magnet and I’ve been sleeping better. I’ve also had much more energy. And the magnet only cost $6.

So I retraced my steps but couldn’t find the magnet. I looked in every room, on every counter, on every floor and could not see this tiny magnet stuck to the band aid. Well you know how it feels losing something when you know you just had it so I won’t go into all the emotions that I went through. I looked up and said “Lord I really need your eyes right now ’cause I know it’s here but I can’t see it but I know you can. So please show me where the magnet is. Thanks Lord.”  I realized I could go get another one for $6 but I knew it had to be here somewhere and it was a good 30 minute drive to the chiropractor. Finally, it occurred to me it could have ended up in the garbage with the tissues. When I looked in the trash can sure enough I saw the Benadryl and the tissues. But no magnet. So I spent another ten minutes looking everywhere. Finally I realized it must have fallen all the way down into the garbage because I knew it was in my hand at the same time as the Benadryl and the tissues. I got another garbage bag and started picking through the wet tea bags, watermelon rinds, paper, and all sorts of ooey, gooey things. By the time I was almost at the bottom and it was getting really gross, I decided to forget it and just go get another one the next day. I picked the bag up out of the container and set it in the middle of the kitchen floor, then put the second bag inside the first. I tied the top and picked the bag up to leave beside the door so it could be taken to the shed, and there on the floor right beneath where the bag had sat was the magnet on the band aid. I started to laugh. It was so funny. What a sense of humor God has. I checked the bottom of the bag for holes, just to be sure there were none, and of course there weren’t. Knowing He had put it on the floor where I couldn’t miss it, I said “Thank you Lord” and continued on with my morning.

Magnet on the kitchen floor

A cedar tree and an oak tree 'grown together'

While Gary and I were picnicking by the pond one afternoon a few Sundays ago, I was lying on a blanket on the freshly mowed grass listening to the music of nature. There was a soft breeze blowing and the sound of water falling from the fountain in the pond echoing the passage of time. The sun was shining on my face and it was a time of reflection and seeking God’s messages. I turned over and my eyes focused on the tree right behind us. I stared at it for a moment and in my heart I heard Him say “And two shall become one”. I knew I was receiving a message. An intimate message from God given to me through His beauty and creation. I stood up and went over to the tree to get a closer look.

When you first glanced at the tree you saw a huge old cedar with a trunk telling a tale that started well over 100 years ago. It’s many arms were reaching out in various directions offering shelter and shade to birds, squirrels and any other critters seeking it’s safety. Then about two feet away from the base of the main trunk of the cedar, an oak tree had grown up. A large and very old branch of the cedar tree and the main trunk of the oak had intersected. They had quite simply bonded and grown together. You could not tell where one tree ended or the other began. They had lovingly and gracefully become intertwined then continued on in their separate directions.

I had mowed under these trees, sat under them and even hung a birdhouse from their branches before, but had never noticed the joined trunks until this moment. “And two shall become one”, I heard the words again. I wondered what God was trying to tell me.I went back to the blanket and opened the Bible we had been reading, looking to Genesis chapter two where I knew I would find those words written by the Lord so many years ago. In verse 21 God had put Adam into a deep sleep and taken one of his ribs to make his helpmate, his woman. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24. Since I had started the programs here at the ranch using experiential learning, I knew He was wanting to teach me something with a visual aid. I started to consider the metaphors of marriage with the vision of these two trees. And I considered some things Gary and I had been struggling with in our union. I immediately saw the parallel’s of us and those trees. Gary and I have only been married four years and starting a relationship in your forties is very different than when you are in your twenties. We have come up against many obstacles that I believe are deeper than with younger couples just starting out in their first marriage. Mostly the difficulty of joining two lives together when we had been individuals and independent for so long. So I studied the trees to find the message that God was trying to give us.

First, the two trees were separate coming out of the ground, as our lives were before we met and married. Each tree had a separate direction and although heading for the sky, they were starting from a different location.  Then the trees intersected and grew around each other and together. You could not tell where one ended and the other began. And while those two trees grew together, they were joined in all things. They were no longer separate but together. When you looked at the combined trunks, they were stronger, straighter and completely united. There were no longer separate needs, only the needs of the union. There was also a sense of peace where they had bonded, as if they were in total agreement with the outcome of their joining.They were complementing each other and there did not seem to be a struggle in their bonding.

The beauty of the two united

I wondered how long it took for that union to be completed? How many years did each tree sacrifice its own needs for the needs of it’s partner? How many years did it take to complete that union? When did the trees decide it was okay to continue on with their separate identities, knowing that their bonding together would always be there and make them stronger together than they could ever be alone? Would they have both grown together so well if they’d been in a different place on the ranch with different soil conditions? Was the environment important to their bonding and flourishing? I looked at those trees and wondered if Gary and I were trying to join two separate trees with glue instead of truly growing together where you couldn’t tell where one of us started and the other ended. Did we need to look harder at strengthening our joining before we tried to spread outwards and upwards into the future? That reminded me of another scripture. Of a parable that Jesus taught about building your foundation on rock instead of sand. So when the rains came and the storms pounded the house would stand the tests of time. I looked at those two trees and knew they had survived the hurricanes of 2004 and all the mighty storms and wind that had prevailed upon them for so many years, standing stronger because of the power of two together. Sometimes we are afraid if we join body, mind and soul with another person we will lose ourselves or it will make us too vulnerable, too exposed to being hurt, so we live only half an existence in our marriage trying to protect ourselves instead of growing deeper in that union. But when couples grow together like the trees, they actually become stronger, so they can carry on with God’s purpose for their lives. Looking at the trees beyond their point of union, they had both grown taller and individually reached separately towards the sky. The oak was tall and straight and was peaking out beyond the tops of the cedar tree and the branch of the cedar had spread far and wide out from the oak. It’s heavy branches a shelter to both the oak and anything underneath it. As the wind blew the tips of the branches of both trees, the trunk where they were joined did not move. And I saw what God was showing me about our marriage. We were not to be two people coming together to share our separate lives; we were to become one, then grow into our individual callings with a foundation rooted deeply with God, so strong it could resist the storms of life.

And there was one more obvious thing to note about the joining of the trees; they could not possibly be separated unless they fell together.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” Eccesiastes 4:9/10

God’s blessings to all

Trish

I was walking through the center aisle of the cement barn at about 10am on May 1st when I noticed a flutter of movement in one of the stalls. There were no horses in the barn and I had already finished the morning chores. A slight breeze was blowing through the aisle and the temperature was about 75 degrees. It was an absolutely beautiful spring morning.

As I looked inside the stall, I was surprised to see four baby birds attempting to fly off the floor of one of the stalls. They must have come from the bird house that was hanging under the eaves at the end of the barn. I could imagine them standing on the edge of the perch and trying their wings for the first time; flapping as hard as they could but not able to accomplish full flight. Somehow all four baby birds had found their way into the stall and with tiny wings they were trying their

 

The birdhouse

hardest to  fly. They did not seem to be able to rise more than a few inches off the ground before they would nose dive and resume running through the shavings. Each would take a try then run back to their siblings and huddle in a corner. They were so small I was thankful they had not been on the floor when the dogs had been running freely while I was feeding the horses. The Jack Russel’s are such good hunters I knew they would have pounced on these little babies and killed them. It appeared our Father in Heaven had been watching over them when they left their nest that morning. But isn’t that just what the Bible says; that He cares for every creature?

I watched in fascination as Mom flew into the stall through the grills in the window and brought a long dangling worm to feed her babies. The four lifted their mouths to receive her tasty morsel and in an instant the worm was gone. Mom flew back out the window and the little birds continued their attempts to fly. Minutes later, Mother bird once again flew through the window with another worm. I watched them continue this routine for quite a few minutes hoping to see the babies gain confidence and the ability to fly on their own. I was so happy that Mom had been able to find them in this new place and that she had not abandoned them since they were no longer safe in the little birdhouse. She was encouraging them and watching over them while they learned to be independent. But after awhile it was obvious that they weren’t strong enough yet. So looking down at them all piled together in the far corner of the stall, I closed and latched the door to keep them safe from any predators that would be coming through the barn, including my dogs.

Throughout the day I checked on their progress but each time I visited the stall they were still huddled in one corner or another. I didn’t see Mom again but they all looked healthy and content. As I watched them for a few minutes I thought of all the dangers that could have come upon them while they were unable to fly. I wondered what would have happened to them had they not found this safe haven, this place where someone was watching out for them until they were fully able to fly for themselves. I wondered if they knew about the dangers that were out there, dangers they were unable to flee from at this moment.

I felt the Lord speak to my heart as I was watching those tiny birds. He spoke to me of our role, as caring Christians, to help shield all the little ones who come into our lives, whether for a moment or a lifetime. We are all called to shield them from dangers they aren’t even aware of, during the times when their own parents aren’t able to. We are to do what we can to protect them from danger, and teach them skills that will help them take care of themselves. Often we see children or youth going through troubled times, or we see them acting out and we walk away shaking our head.  But we have a chance to reach those troubled children and teens. A chance to teach them and help them find their way. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Our own futures depend on our youth growing up strong and dependable and courageous. And as the Lord showed me my role through these little baby birds, my heart swelled with thankfulness that He had created this ministry at Story Book Meadows, and that I had the privilege of being a substitute, if only for a short time, for Moms and Dads that couldn’t teach their children the things that God was teaching them through the horses. He was teaching them things about love, relationships, trust, self confidence, honor and integrity. I was honored that He had chosen me for such an important role and humbled that He felt I was worthy. I was thankful that I had such an opportunity to share the love of Christ with each little person that arrived here at the Ranch.

Baby Birds

By the afternoon of the next day the birds were all gone. They had learned to soar high above the ground and no longer needed the protection our barn offered. I was disappointed that their visit had been so short but I knew there would be another lost one needing our help and protection one day and I was looking forward to that day. Not being a bird watcher, it occurred to me that I didn’t even know what kind of birds they had been, then I realized, it didn’t matter because all little ones are precious in His sight.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”    Mark 10:14

There was a message to me from the ranch that day, it was a message about caring!

Blessings to all,

Trish Carlo

This is a new blog about how God speaks to us through His creation;  nature. Seeing beauty in everyday things and learning from the animals, plants, trees and all that His creation encompasses are the things you will read about in this blog. There is a message to us from the ranch daily if we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear what nature has learned from its Creator and is freely sharing with all of us. The message I receive may not be the same one you receive but I will share my thoughts and the word I hear from God. I would love to hear back from you about the message you receive from my stories and what God speaks to you through His creation.  More to come soon….

There will also be news of things that are happening here on the ranch.

Blessings from Trish