Let go of the reins

By Steven Polley

Director, Office of Youth Ministry

Growing up on the small farm and ranch that my grandfather had was nice in the sense that along with my grandfather, my brother and I both had horses. So, any time something needed to be done with the cows it was usually done by horseback.

Now, the horse that my grandfather had was unique in the sense that it took an experienced rider to be able to handle her, so it was not until I was older and in high school and college that I actually spent very much time riding her.

This horse was unique in many other ways, as well. In the late 70s after I had begun my teaching career and was living away from home, my grandfather had a heart attack. As he was recovering in the hospital, the horse literally got out of the pasture and came and stood looking in the picture window of our house. She new that something was not right.

After my grandfather passed away, my grandmother sold the horse to a rancher who lived about 12 miles away. Well sure enough a couple of days later the horse was back home. The rancher came and picked her up again and, you guessed it, a couple of days later there she was again. She truly knew her way home. When the man came to pick her up a third time, he said that he was not surprised when she cleared the six foot fence and got out, but the 12-foot fence that she jumped the second time totally caught him off guard.

It was after my grandfather had suffered his heart attack that I did most of the riding on this horse. One day as we were trying to round up some cows, I was riding and the ground was rather muddy, so I figured that I had better not turn the horse to short. Well, little did I know, she knew more than I did. She simply took control, laid over a little further and made the turn to cut the cow. It’s a wonder I didn’t fall off. But after that, I knew full well that I could let go of the reins a little more giving her more freedom.

I have mentioned a couple of other times in my columns about my aunt and uncle who live in Montana and the ranch they had in the badlands. I remember more than once my uncle telling of how he would be out checking his cows in the middle of a blizzard, get disoriented and not be able to find his way home. All he could do was to let go of the reins and let the horse take him home. To me this would be a true act of faith and trust, but the horse knew where home was and led them there.

As we begin our journey through this Advent season, all of us have our sights set on home and the celebration of Christ’s birth. How then, can we allow ourselves to do a little better job of letting go of the reins in our lives that seem to hold us back?

I think of the young people I work with. I still find myself too often wanting to control the situation, and I wonder if my own fear of not being in control is holding them back and keeping them from growing in fuller communion with God.

So, as I enter into this Advent season and this time of patiently waiting, my prayer is to let go, listen more clearly to not only God’s voice in my life, but the voice of each young person and the joy of life they celebrate.

I feel that we can use this time of the year to minister to our young people. Their lives are extremely busy and filled with many duties and stresses. So, how can we help them learn to let go of the reins in their lives that hold them back? As they journey toward Christmas, how can they come to journey with a deeper faith and greater trust?