Horses Help Heal Hurting Hearts

Faith was born in Russia. We adopted her at age 5.

She joined our family with a passion for horses already in place. She drew horses. She researched breeds. She wrote stories about horses. Finally when she was about 12, we were able to provide riding lessons for her. The passion within her heart for these majestic beauties simply heated up with each exposure Faith had to one of them.

At age 14 Faith finally reached the age where she could volunteer for the local stable that provides therapeutic horseback riding for those who are disabled. Faith's older sisters, Kirsten and Christina, had each gone before her in volunteering at the stable. The girls helped one evening each week with leading or walking alongside the horses as those noble steeds carried their very special riders around an arena. Eventually the girls were asked to help train the horses on Tuesday mornings. This meant a great deal of riding time. What a sweet gift from our good God!

Another horse blessing was provided by God to our daughters. Unbeknownst to us for years, a barn sits at the bottom of our street hidden from view by the hilly landscape. When our daughter, Kirsten, needed a stable to board her horse, Magic, she called the number on a sign hanging from a corral fence that was visible from the street. It was then that we discovered, how just how close the wonder of horses could be for our family. A stable within walking distance with an indoor arena! Amazing!

This past year, Faith has had the opportunity to develop a strong bond with a horse named Zee. Zee is a former roping champion so she's way out of our price range. However, the owner of the barn who is also Zee's owner, allows Faith to lease Zee. This has been a glorious opportunity for Faith, and she's developed a deep friendship with Zee.

One day late last autumn, Faith helped both girls grow more comfortable around the large, powerful animals. Until that time, both of our youngest girls had felt nervous and tentative near horses.

Faith helped Hope grow confident in leading Zee.

As Faith prepared to saddle Zee, Hope had the role of holding Zee still. This gave our precious 14-year-old the chance to gain confidence in being close to Zee's face. The mare seemed to delight in Hope's delicate stokes.

Faith is so petite (She stands less than 5 feet tall) that I'm not sure how she hoists the heavy saddle onto Zee, but she does it like an old ranch hand.

Once Zee was saddled, Hope rode the gentle horse. Hope was hesitant at first, but with the Faith's encouraging words and ongoing instructions, Hope's confidence grew.

By the end of her time on Zee, Hope was riding like a champion thanks to her sister's kind coaching.

As I took these photos, I was so grateful to Faith for helping Hope surmount a long standing fear.

And I was tickled to see Hope and Zee's friendship begin to blossom.

This was a beautiful afternoon in every respect!

Eliana also got the chance to grow more at ease with the big beast that Zee is. Eliana has loved petting the horses that are boarded at the stable, but there's usually been a fence between her and the horse. This time she stood close as she fed Zee handfuls of grass. Much to Zee's delight!

For Eliana, this afternoon of being bathed in Faith's attention and coaching brought a real breakthrough. She laughed and bathed Zee in kisses, giving up the former nervousness she'd had around horses.

Eliana and Zee became pals that day!

It's one thing to relish a horse for your own pleasure. The world abounds in horse lovers who spend as many hours riding as they're able to work in.

However, on that slightly chilly autumn afternoon, Faith had taken her horsemanship to a new level, a stretching of her heart that would please Christ. She had shared Zee. She'd laid down her own desires for riding time and served her sisters. Her love for her little sisters and her passion for her horse had collided in exquisite wonder.

Would the Orphan's Dream Come True?

Last week our family made a last minute trip to central Iowa. We'd gotten word about a horse for sale so quickly rescheduled the days events. Then we jumped in our trusty 15-passenger van for an utterly new experience. This adventure was an especially important one to Mr R and me.

You see, years ago the two of us made a promise to a Russian judge. As we went through the final step of actually going to court in Russia in our effort to adopt Kirsten, Nathaniel and Eliana, we endured intense grilling which culminated in an insanely-long deliberation by the judge. Well, okay...we probably only fidgeted on the hard wooden benches for about an hour -- it just SEEMED like forever! The judge who had intimidated us for two days from his high perch on the dais had our hearts in his hands. Many months earlier we had visited Moscow with a group of fellow Americans interested in providing homes for fatherless children living in orphanages. On that trip, we'd not only felt the Lord's calling to add Nathaniel (10) and Eliana (5) to our family. Much to our surprise, we'd also fallen in love with a 15-year-old beauty with a kind heart and a quirky sense of humor. Since then we'd spent months jumping through hoops put in place on both the American and Russian sides trying to turn the three kiddos -- who had grown up in the same orphanage -- into our children.

When the judge returned after his deliberation, he made it clear -- through our interpreter -- that his agreement to the Kirsten's adoption came with a condition. He looked us steadily in the eye. We held our breath not knowing what would come next. The judge then told us that we must ensure that Kirsten would get the opportunity to interact with horses. During her testimony in court, the judge had asked her about her dreams and goals, and he was determined that her new parents would see to the nourishment of this orphan's aspirations. We didn't know how we would keep our word to the judge. Horses had never been on our family's radar. Even so, we breathed a sigh of relief. All along the arduous path to adopting this teenager, God had been leading. He had been ever faithful when we when we repeatedly ran full force into the inevitable roadblocks that seem to be part of international adoption. So the two of us held hands and meekly nodded our agreement to the judge's condition.

In the four years since that adoption took place, the Lord has opened doors left and right for our horse lover. And, as it turns out, Kirsten isn't alone in her passion. Her sisters, Christina (17) and Faith (15), share her love of all things equine. The three sisters have bonded tightly as close friends through this shared interest. They've taken riding lessons together and volunteered at a nearby ranch that offers therapeutic riding for children with disabilities or delays.

A little over a year ago Kirsten graduated from high school. She did so with a dream in her heart. She longed to become a horse trainer. Last summer she was blessed to work as an intern on a dude ranch. She got in numberless hours of horse riding. She even learned how to heard cattle. Then in the fall Kirsten made a move to Ohio, living with Aaron and Anna for a few months. The Lord opened a door again, and she found a job she loved. She worked as a stable hand at a facility that is home to more than 40 horses, many of them trained to show.

Now Kirsten is back home and ready for the next step in this journey. She hopes to learn the Pat Parelli natural horsemanship training method. Before Kirsten can attend the school in the Colorado mountains, she has to be able to demonstrate that she has reached a number of milestones in training a horse. In order to do this, Kirsten needed a horse to train. Our dream as parents is to be able to help each of our children with a portion of the cost of their post high school education. For Kirsten, this meant we would help her buy a horse. Thus, our four-hour drive into the heart of Iowa last week.

Kirsten heard about a horse named Magic through Brittany, a friend she'd made while volunteering at the therapeutic horseback riding stable. Brittany is thoroughly connected in the horse world in the upper Midwest. With that knowledge, she enjoys playing "matchmaker" -- helping prospective horse owners find just the right animal. The looming question as we drove was would there be a fit between our daughter and this particular animal. 

When we arrived at the stable, Kirsten approached Magic somewhat tentatively. She was studying him carefully to see what traits he would exhibit. She was reading the three-year-old's body language.

While Kirsten was watching the horse, I was watching her. It wasn't long before her expression change. Her look of hesitation changed to a cautious smile, and I knew we were watching something magical happen between a former orphan and a dark chocolate horse sporting a braided mane for the special day.

A few minutes into Kirsten's contemplation, Magic's owner, John, offered to show her Magic's level of training.

He had Magic mount this "bridge" to demonstrate that Magic doesn't spook easily. Next, John mounted Magic and rode him around the arena. Our girls who are now walking encyclopedia's of horse knowledge had told us ahead of time that seeing the owner ride the horse he's trying to sell is crucial. After all, if the owner is unwilling to ride the horse, there's a good chance the animal has "issues".

Now it was Kirsten's chance to ride.

Her siblings watched with interest. Faith recorded the entire ride on Kirsten's phone for her.

While all this was going on, Kirsten's Dad and I were in the background praying without ceasing. We still know so little about horses that we were completely dependent on God to give the wisdom to know if this was THE horse. We felt a wonderful peace despite the major expense we were contemplating making. God leads and guides those understand their dependence on Him. He is faithful to help those who cry out to Him.

Kirsten dismounted and did some more thinking and praying.

And then the came the smile that told us it was time for her daddy to do some negotiating! Over the course of more than four years, God had led us baby step by baby step to this momentous occasion.

As Mr. R and John talked, I just couldn't help thinking back to that Russian court room. I couldn't help wishing that the judge could have been with us to see the orphaned child who lived without hope become a horse owner, by God's grace. Somehow I think that the stoic countenance he presented throughout the adoption hearing would  have been replaced by a grin as wide as Kirsten's.

God abounds in lovingkindness!