ME Week—Thursday
I was the Operations Manager at Young Life’s Windy Gap camp in the late 1990s. My daughter, Mary Elizabeth, fell in love with the horses there very quickly, especially since their main pasture was basically our back yard. At three years old, she loved to lean in between the slats of the fence to feed the horses some apples and carrots.
One day I took her to the barn. When we arrived, I started talking to one of the wranglers and forgot that she was with me. I looked around and couldn’t find her. I panicked. I yelled for her, “Mary Liz! Mary Liz?” Immediately, I heard a soft voice sweetly say, ‘Yes, Daddy.” I leaned down and looked to my left to find my three-year-old daughter walking underneath a line of several horses and rubbing their bellies as she walked between their legs. She was completely peaceful and filled with childlike joy. Me. . . not so much. :)
A few years later, we were back at Windy Gap and she got to ride her favorite horse, Boo. (We almost bought Boo at one point but just didn’t have the ability to keep him, so we settled for a stuffed animal version.)
So, there we were back at the barn. Mary Liz had grown some but was still miniature compared to Boo; yet, it was amazing to see her tightening the saddle, putting on the bridle and bit, and stepping into the stirrups. She was so happy!
At first, I led Boo with the rope, but after a few steps, it was clear that Mary Liz knew what she was doing, and she took off riding on her own. She came around the side of the barn with one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen.
She still smiles when she sees horses. She just went riding in the mountains this past Monday. The spot that I mentioned taking her to in my blog on Monday is actually a beautiful horse farm that is nestled by a mountain river. She is still crazy about horses after all these years. She’s passionate about riding them, but she’s equally passionate about caring for them.
As a dad, I believe that one of the most important things I can do is to figure out what my kids are really passionate about and give them the ability to pursue that passion. However God has wired them to think and dream and do—part of my role is to give them a pasture to play and experiment in. Sometimes it involves leaps of joy and other times it involves skinned knees. Pastures can have fences to give structure and boundaries—and to keep out unwanted distractions. Sometimes the wide open spaces with room to go at a full gallup are the best places to learn about freedom and responsibility.
I want to be the kind of dad that holds the rope until she gets settled in the saddle and then says, “Go for it!”
I believe with all my heart and mind that God feels the same way about us. People sometimes get the wrong impression that God is trying to squash and squelch life. It’s just not true. As Jesus says in the book of John, “The thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” (John 10:10).
So, Mary Elizabeth, ride like the wind. Go for it. Dream dreams. You were made for more and better life than you have even dreamed of. I love you so much.
