Back in the saddle again!

"Back in the saddle again" - a phrase used by many including myself to refer to getting back on track, back to a good place, back to ones' post. That metaphorical meaning is applicable to our experiences yesterday, but so is the literal meaning (there is probably some hermenutical illustration in there somewhere - I digress). Yesterday, Joanna and I both literally and metaphorically were back in the saddle again as the old cowboy song by Gene Autry says. We went for an exhilarating horse ride on the beach! For all the years and experiences we've had riding horses, including through water, we had never ridden a horse on the beach or in the ocean.

We both rode paint geldings. Mine was Leo the obvious paint. Joanna's was Fred who is not as colorful. Both Leo and Fred were well behaved, but they also knew the drill. The particular ride we chose is advertised as only for advanced riders. Now we know why! When Ben Doyle, our very friendly and knowledgable guide, gave us the signal the horses were ready to GO! Our horses were very competitive and wanted to be in front. However, my horse, Leo, had an extra gear or two that Joanna's and Ben's did not.

I have ridden all kinds of horses in my life, including some fairly fast ones, but Leo was one of, if not the fastest I've ever ridden. I had never ridden with a helmet (yeah, old school, they weren't around when I was growing up and riding, but by the time they were, I was in my late teens and too cool/too much a cowboy to wear one). However, I was glad I had one for our beach ride! I was not afraid, but I remember thinking at one point that if we were to have some sort of a wreck going at that speed it would not have been pretty. Gotta grow up sometime! Nevertheless, I urged Leo on and he still had more power, more speed. He loved it as much or more than I did! I found out later that Fred wanted to go faster than Joanna wanted to go, and so she had to constantly hold him back. I often had to hold Leo back as well. Ben had put me on their "hottest" horse when I told him I preferred a lively one.

The experience was enhanced by Ben. We really enjoyed talking with him, including about Christ.

The Lord could not have blessed us with a better time - soreness and all!

As I reflect on being "back in the saddle again", having experienced one of the most exhilirating rides of my life along with my wife, I am truly grateful to the Lord. I also praise Him for His creative power and genius in making one of my favorite creatures. When the Lord responded to Job's questioning about why He allowed Job to go through so much heartache and devastion, one of the things the Lord did was to question Job. The Lord essentially asked Job a series of questions that pointed to the Lord's wisdom, majestic power and sovereignty. Within that monologue, the Lord pointed to several of His creative works including the horse:

"Do you give the horse his might?

Do you clothe his neck with a mane?

Do you make him leap like the locust?

His majestic snorting is terrifying.

He paws in the valley and exults in his strength;

he goes out to meet the weapons.

He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;

he does not turn back from the sword.

Upon him rattle the quiver,

the flashing spear and the javelin.

With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;

he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.

When the trumpet sounds, he says 'Aha!'

He smells the battle from afar,

the thunder of the captains, and the shouting."

Job 39:19-25

 

That is an apt description of Leo when the "trumpet" of our signal to go was given. He swallowed up the ground with fierceness. And me? I was holding tight, rejoicing in the Lord and smiling from ear to ear - back in the saddle again!