February Letter from the Editor
For some reason, this month has been filled with wild horses on mind. If you know a little about me, you know my love of horses. If you don’t know me very well, now you know I have always loved horses. When I was a little girl growing up in the inner city, I had a room filled with images of horses - and they decorated my whole space. That didn’t really change with age.
I daydreamed of horses and spent hours reading “Heartland” - long before it became a television series. My love was further fueled by our multiple trips a year to visit family in Kentucky (where I now live). These beautiful creatures intimidated and amazed me. God knew this love of horses - and introduced me to the person to make my dreams come true.
In my twenties, I met another woman named Hannah. She was fueled by faith and had her own dreams. Those dreams led to her going to school to be a horse trainer and acquiring two wild mustangs that she trained and loved very much. Hannah and I met because of our love for helping young women. We bonded as we served other women and the community.
She saw my dreams and shared what she had. Ginger was the second of her acquired mustangs. I fell in love with Ginger the moment I met her. In my little girl daydreams, I had this image of finding a horse that I had a special connection with - like in the movies. The moment I met Ginger, she was that horse. She was still in training and learning to work with humans. Her personality - wild, stubborn, and loveable.
I’ll never forget the first time she walked forward and put her head on my chest. It turned out - we had the same love language. This horse loved to hug! And, with physical touch being my top love language, I could stand there for forever with her. Hannah taught me the basics of grooming a horse and leading a horse with her.
Then, Hannah went a step further and taught me things I’d only dreamed of doing. Hannah is my type of human - believing that healing and hope occur as relationships build. She began to teach me to build a relationship with horses. It started with teaching me the basics of grooming. From there, she built into leading her out to the pasture. From there, she began to teach me body signals and using them to lead Ginger. Then, we moved into learning to “lunge” Ginger. This was a learning experience for both Ginger and I - as she learned to follow my instructions by going in circles around me with a rope between us.
The adventures of lunging proved to be a life lesson - applicable to humans and horses alike. There were the moments of frustration for Hannah - as she led us and Ginger would run over wanting to cuddle - and who was I to say “no” to her? Then, there was the time I thought I was stronger than a horse that weighed significantly more than her. I remember Ginger wanting to go in one direction - while I was trying to lead her. Something scared her, and for some reason, I thought holding on to a rope of a mustang running away from me was a good idea. Piece of advice - never do that!
Hannah stepped in and calmed Ginger while I took a pause to pick myself up, after being dragged briefly by a mustang. What happened next is something I hope you hold onto. Hannah calmed Ginger and brought her right back to me. She checked on me, I dusted off myself, and Hannah said to go at it again. Why? Because to stop the lesson and relationship at that moment would be detrimental to both Ginger and I. It would have caused harm to her growth with humans and to my ability to trust horses. Hannah stayed there with us and guided us together until we were both calm.
As a child, I used to shy away from conflict or even the thought of conflict (if you know me now, you would be incredibly surprised by this). That day I walked away feeling a little more skittish of horses, but also incredibly empowered in relationship with both humans and animals. Sometimes you need to take a step back - emotions are charged and you both need to take the space to heal before revisiting the conversation. However, similar to Ginger and I, there comes the moment where the best thing you can do is step back into the relationship and find healing together. You sit in the hard moments - because it will bring healing to you both.
As you step into the month of love, consider those you love in every relationship and where you may need to find healing. Sometimes, in order to move forward in life, you need to sit in healing with the important people that God has for you. Every encounter you have with someone has the opportunity to bring healing to you and their future relationships. How can you bring healing to yourself and your ability to love others this month?