The Photo That Wasn't

For any of you who do photography as a professional, an amateur or a person who simply enjoys taking a picture for a memory - there are moments that go undocumented in a visible way.  Such is my story that only lives on in my mind's eye and is a constant reminder to have a camera always at hand to record an unplanned event.   

Such an event happened several weeks ago when our horses escaped to the neighbor's property across the road.  My husband, who is the horseman in the family, grabbed a halter and proceeded in plan to catch the tamest horse to lead in hopes that the others would follow.  I was positioned at the end of a hillside road that turned into the town of Mt. Vernon.  Eventually, I heard him call out something about being the piped piper (a person who induces others to follow).  Standing guard at my positioned point intent that no horse would break past me, here the 'horseman cometh' with a horse in tow and a trail of horses following.  It was quite mesmerizing to watch a string of nearly 35 head of horses trailing behind their human leader who now could only be detected by the bobbing of his cowboy hat as he walked in front of the herd.  They calmly moved along the path that leads to home, trusting in this man who feeds and oversees their care.  

I then realized that I missed a tremendous photo opportunity because of  a lack of  a camera to record the event.  No words can possibly tell you how it really looked but it lives on in my memory.  The best I can do is share a few photos with you that was taken last summer when this same horseman was moving his horses from a pasture onto the hillside.  If you look close enough, you'll spot a white cowboy hat among the herd in this first picture...

The below photo is the view as they came up on the hill.  As you can see, we live in beautiful country that is diverse with hills and valley, juniper trees and sagebrush.... and silence.  Blessed silence with no motor sounds from traffic noise, train whistles or busy sirens.

This story contains the dynamics of trust and familiarity.  The horses came to be familiar with their horseman and he gained their trust through interaction with them.  They also knew where they belonged in a place of safety and provision.  Oh yes, they did escape into an unknown place but their horseman came and brought them back to their belonging home.  If we equate this spiritually, the same dynamics of trust and familiarity stand out.  Trust in our Father God opens the door to relationship with Him and we become familiar with His ways.  There are times that we do 'escape' and find ourselves in an unknown place but our faithful God comes and leads us back on His pathway to the home of His heart.

See you in two weeks on Monday, March 12th where we meet again at The Turn-Up Patch....