Triple Crown Winner

Horse racing is an interesting sport. The central athlete in the competition is a huge thoroughbred. Like it or not this animal generally comes with plans of his own. There is the jockey of course. He is perched precariously atop his mount, urging him on. But really it’s the horse that does all the work and grabs all the glory.

Horses have been raced in organized races for over a hundred years in this country. Each Spring the country sets its collective breath as talk begins anew of the “triple crown” and whether this year will a horse emerge that can actually win it. The Triple Crown is won by winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes in the same year.

Winning the Triple Crown is not an easy feat. It’s not supposed to be. It’s not supposed to be won every year. The last time it was won was in 1978 by Affirmed. But perhaps the most memorable winner in recent times was in 1973 by an unknown, unproven horse named Red.

Red was a big, strong horse with what his owner thought was potential. But before his owner could ever race him, she had to prepare him for the race first. The potential she saw running in her meadows back at the farm was thrilling but all that power and fury and might had to be harnessed, trained and taught. Red had to be broken and taught how to run before he could be allowed to run.

Breaking a horse, especially a strong, fast thoroughbred race horse is no easy task. You don’t just throw a saddle on the horse, jump on and hold on until the horse tires and you win. The horse must be approached with caution. It must be handled with care. The bridle must be introduced. Then the pad, next the saddle and long after those are accepted regularly then a rider is introduced. And even then a rider may find he is an unwanted intruder and summarily dismounted.

Caution is used when breaking a thoroughbred because you don’t want to break his winning spirit when breaking his wild nature. Care is used to leave part of the wild streak in tact. It is that wild heart that makes him so valuable and fast and fuels his competitive nature. It is what makes him who he is and what makes him so valuable as a race horse so care is made to break only as much of him as necessary. The trainer needs his horse to submit to the commands of the rider but still have the wild heart he was born with.

When in the hands of the proper trainer a wild and raw thoroughbred can be turned into a Triple Crown winner. Red was. No one thought that horse had the right stuff to be a winner much less win it all. No one except his owner, trainer and jockey. They saw in him his true potential and worked to break him and train him just the right way to set his wild heart free. And boy, when they set him free – did he ever run.

That’s what our Owner, Trainer and Jockey do with us. We’re already Triple Crown Winners. But we must be taught how to run. They break us and train us all in an effort to set our wild heart free. Of, course we don’t see it that way. We see all that – the being told no, the things that don’t go our way, the endless waiting, the shaping of our character, the letting go of things and people we love, the lack of control, the missed joy, etc. – as pointless. But its not.

We have a heart but like the thoroughbred’s it’s a wild heart and we need to be taught how to reign it in and control its power and potential. We have plans and goals. We want to run straight for that finish line. But our wild heart must have some control or our running will be chaotic and pointless.

If Red was allowed to race just as he was straight from the meadow he would have never have won even one race. He had to be taught how to run and how to win. When his trainer and jockey taught him how he could truly harness and tap into his potential then Red could run as far and as fast as he’d ever dreamed of.

When Red was ready to race his name was changed. Secretariat could run like the wind. And when he did – he out ran them all. And when he won the third and final race, the Belmont, and thus the Triple Crown, he won by a margin that no horse has ever come close matching. It was like he had wings. When he was finally allowed to run he was allowed to run as far and as fast as he’d ever wanted to go. He just had to be taught the right way first.

When we are ready we are made new in Christ. We look the same on the outside but God sees we are new on the inside. And he sets us free to run. And He wants us to run as far and as fast as we desire. God gives us wings – wings like eagles. But He doesn’t give us those wings without teaching us how to use them first.

No one said getting broken in is easy, but just watch a race horse run and tell me it’s not having the time of its life.
~

Spirit of Adventure

Today is my Mother’s birthday. We have planned a fun dinner in her honor. One that incorporates who she is and the traditions she has given our family. It should be a hilarious night if nothing else.

My Mom is a lady in every sense of the word. She is beautiful and graceful, she is loving, kind and generous. She is gentle and down to earth. Although not noticeable at first glance my mother is also quite adventurous. She has this little spirit of adventure in her that likes to peek out every once in a while. And we never know where it will lead when it does.

It’s this little hidden trait which makes her so fun. And causes the family to do a collective shake of the head from time to time. Take for example the summer she decided to spend several months in Colorado without my father. My parents love Colorado and they spend most of the summer there – together.

One summer my Dad had work matters at home and he could not get away for the whole summer. Mom is typically not comfortable travelling alone without Dad or friends but she decided that this particular year she would venture out and go ahead to Colorado and Dad could join her later.

While there Mom decided to make use of her time, branch out and meet new friends. One of the things she did was to take a wildflower cooking class. It seems the point of the class was to take nature hikes, learn about the growing wildflowers, and my stars does Colorado have some stunning flowers in the summer, then pick the edible ones and cook with them.

I have to pause here and alert you that as darling as my Mom is, she is no Betty Crocker in the kitchen, Lord love her. So we were all very encouraged by this class.

Mother loved the class. She learned so much about the wildflowers and cooking while hiking and taking in some magnificent scenery. This would have been wonderful if it hadn’t ended up with Mom getting food poisoning. Twice. It seems that some of the edible wildflowers were not edible after all. (Either that or Mom’s cooking skills really are a danger. As Mom’s cooking has never given the family food poisoning I’m going to place blame squarely with the flowers.)

Who knew something as beautiful and fragile as a butter cup or dandelion could reek such havoc? Chipmunks, marmots and squirrels eat them all the time. But wildflowers for human consumption, while not all dangerous, should be approached with caution. As tempting as it is to use nature’s beauty for other things sometimes it is best to just admire it from afar.

Temptation is like that. We see something we think will be fun or will take care of our desires and we go for it. It appears to meet whatever need we are having at that time and the danger is hidden from view. Just because something is beautiful or helpful does not mean it will be good for us. Just because something works for others does not mean it will work for us. Not every one in the cooking class got sick from the flowers.

We must be mindful of the temptations that are laid before us and first try to uncover the cloaked threat before proceeding. After Jesus was in the desert for 40 days he became very weak and hungry and really wanted the whole experience to be over. Satan tried to tempt Him using Jesus’ weakness against Him. Satan reminded Jesus who He was and that He didn’t have to remain hungry, He could turn the stones to bread. (Matt. 4:2-4). But Jesus knew better.

Was Jesus hungry? Absolutely. Was He tempted to turn those stones into bread? Scripture tells us He was. But Jesus also knew that while God had helped Moses get water from a stone to help the Israelites, in this instance getting bread from a stone would not help Him. He knew that just because something worked and was God’s will for someone else, it was not God’s will for Him. So Jesus told His enemy to take a hike.

Adventure is good for us. God loves it when we branch out and explore His world. He wants us to try new things; He just wants us to be safe and mindful when we do. To be sure that what we are doing is the right thing for us, not for someone else.

Mom never has mentioned how the food tasted with those wildflowers but she never has taken another cooking class or nature course for that matter. However, she still takes plenty of hikes through the wildflowers. In fact, she has since hiked through wildflower meadows all over the world.

She’s just mindful to enjoy the beauty from afar and let someone else do the cooking.
~

Rite of Passage

There are certain milestones in a girl’s life that mark her progression and journey into adulthood. There are milestones for boys too. These milestones are important because as they are met they signify our step up to a higher level of maturity. And the shedding of another layer of infancy.

These milestone’s start small – walking, and grow larger – starting your own family. But in between there are a thousand other little steps. For most shaving for the first time ranks up there on the “I’m a grown-up now” list.

I remember being a little girl and watching my mother shave her legs. Sitting on the edge of the tub, hand full of shaving cream that she would smooth over her leg then she would expertly glide that razor through the shaving cream creating a clean, smooth path in it. Her legs were always so soft and pretty when she was finished. I couldn’t wait to be just like her and do that too.

I remember watching my brother watch my dad at the sink as he would shave. My brother would smear shaving cream on his face and take a razor-less razor and shave with my dad. Two shirtless guys shaving their beards getting ready for the day. My brother wanted to be a man like my dad.

For both my brother and me shaving was a sign of maturity. It was something grown-ups did. We both wanted to do it so badly but we were told “not yet.” “Not yet” are two of cruelest words a child feels like he or she ever hears. We know we are ready for whatever it is we want but our parent thinks we are not. So we get the “not yet” line.

The thing about milestones and taking that step to the next level is that with that next level comes added responsibility. Promotion never comes without added responsibility. We are not always ready for it like we think we are. Our parents could not allow us to start shaving until they knew we were ready for the responsibility.

I wasn’t yet ready at seven or eight to shave my legs. I wasn’t yet ready to handle a sharp razor in soapy water while teetering on the edge of the bath tub. Further, once a girl starts shaving she has to do it about every other day. That’s a lot for a little girl to handle. Not to mention I had no need to shave my legs at that age. Nor did my brother have a need to be shaving his face at 10 years old – thank heavens.

Despite my protestations, my mother repeatedly told me “not yet” when I asked if I could shave. And in the end I’m glad. Some aspects of adulthood are better left to the adults. But I still have not gotten better about being told “not yet.”

My Heavenly Father does the same thing. God has plans for me. God has plans for you. But that unfortunately does not mean we will be fulfilling those plans right away. God loves to say “not yet.” He doesn’t tell us that to be cruel, we only think He does.

Our Heavenly Father, like our parents, is teaching us the responsibility we will need to be able to handle our new level. He is guiding us through difficult times so when it is time for promotion things that would have been difficult will be much easier. God is educating us and equipping us now with wisdom that we will draw upon later.

God knew Moses would one day lead the Israelites out of their bondage in Egypt. God could have given Moses the power to do it right away, when Pharaoh first banished Moses into exile. But first God had to educate and equip Moses for the task that He was asking him to do. Moses wanted to lead them to freedom but he was not yet ready for the responsibility of it. So Moses spent time in the wilderness being prepared.

I imagine there were many days, weeks, years that Moses thought God had forgotten about him and the Israelites. But God never forgets. The whole time God was getting Moses ready for a mighty step up to another level. But Moses and the Israelites had to hear “not yet” a few thousand times first.

We may think we are ready now for the dreams, goals and desires that God has placed within us but we don’t know the added responsibility that will come with fulfilling those dreams, goals and desires. God does. So we must be patient. We must trust. And we must try not to whine when He says “not yet.” “Not yet” does not mean “never.”

After all, you did finally get to start shaving didn’t you?
~

Opposites Attract

“Opposites attract,” it’s a phrase we’ve heard all our lives. It’s said as a compliment, particularly when said of two completely wrong for each other people who have found themselves in a relationship and it somehow works. To the uninformed sometimes it doesn’t make sense. The republican and the democrat, the nerd and the beautiful actress, the millionairess and the pool boy (no wait, that one I understand).

But you get the idea. Negative and positives are attracted to each other. Generally this is not something to be alarmed about unless you are a millionairess. But there is an opposites-relationship we must look out for and that we all must deal with though we are not millionaires and even if we are.

Everyday we are faced with opposite but not necessarily equal forces. Both are competing for our lives. One is stronger than the other. One, when given the proper chance, will always beat the other. But it must be given the chance or it stands no chance and in turn neither do we.

We are given the choice almost daily in myriad different ways to choose between trusting or fearing. If we are given the chance to stretch ourselves and do something new, if we are given the opportunity to lean on God, if we are reaching beyond ourselves and striving for more, if we are trying to succeed then we are being asked to trust God.

And if we are being asked to trust God – fear is knocking on our door. Fear is telling us we’re crazy to trust. Fear is telling us we will fail. Fear is telling us it will never work out. Fear is telling us we don’t measure up, that we are not good enough, that God will not come through for us. Fear is telling us not to trust.

Here is the little lie fear does not want us to know – trust always beats fear. Trust is a fear killer.

Don’t believe me, ask Peter. Jesus asked him to get out of the boat in the middle of a raging storm and walk on the water to him. Peter didn’t think much of the idea. He paused to double check. Fear was holding him in place. He said to Jesus “if it is you” command me to come to you. Fear told him, he was seeing things, that the Man he’d seen perform miracles couldn’t walk on water, so he waited. When Jesus responded for Peter to “come”, Peter did. Peter trusted Jesus and in the middle of a huge storm climbed out of a boat and tried to do the impossible because he trusted Jesus. And Peter walked on the water. (Matt. 14:25-29).

Well, he did until he lost his trust and fear took hold again. Peter “saw” the wind. He took his eyes and focus off Jesus and his trust was replaced by his circumstances. He replaced his trust with fear and doubt. His thoughts turned most likely to things like – “What am I doing? I am a man, I can’t walk on water. I’m going to drown out here.” And indeed he began to sink. Until he began to trust again. (Matt. 14:30-31).

Fear stands no chance against trust. Trust wins each and every time. But fear is a joy killer. Worry and anxiety crushes our joy faster than the speed of light. If we are experiencing anxiety we are not trusting. We cannot trust and worry at the same time.

We have to pick one.

Fear is the easier choice. For some reason we think worry is the natural way to go. We like to think forward and project the future and usually that future turns out well for others but not for us. Other people are talented enough to do things but not us. Other people succeed but not us. Fear, worry and anxiety will always fight for our attention in an attempt to suck the joy and happiness out of our lives.

But if we choose to trust we will have our joy to the fullest.

If we choose to get out of the boat and keep our focus on God and our thoughts on the fact that He put the talents in us, if we choose to keep in mind that we are all created with the same love from God and He is the strength by which we get things done, if we do not lose sight of the fact that God does what we cannot do, and that a job done to the best of our abilities but that still might fall short is still a success then we will never lose our joy and fear has no power in our lives.

Trust and fear are not compatible. We must keep our eyes off the wind and on God.

Opposites may attract, but like the millionairess and the pool boy, some relationships are doomed from the start.
~

Zig-Zag

How do they get to where they are going? Do they even know where they are going? Perhaps they just go in the general direction of their destination and hope for the best. They certainly never travel in a straight line, not even for a few feet.

You’ve seen them; they look like drunken sailors as they fly from flower to flower. Seemingly no rhyme or reason for the way they fly. But somehow, someway they get to where they want to go. Don’t let all that zig-zagging fool you. These creatures know exactly where they are going and how to get there. The butterfly looks like a crazy creature but these little guys have a plan and a purpose.

Take its annual migration for instance. The North American Monarch migrates every year from deep southern Mexico to Canada and back. Let that sink in a moment. That tiny little thing that looks like it can barely make it to the next flower in your garden is actually on an extraordinary journey when you see it. Pretty clever for a bug that lives only a few months.

The whole migration is a wondrous event. It takes four generations of Monarchs to make it to Canada. The first generation begins in the winter and flies about 500 miles north where they will lay their eggs on milkweed plants. In a few days the eggs hatch into caterpillars. The caterpillars eat the milkweed, grow up in a couple of weeks then find a cozy spot to wrap themselves up into a chrysalis. During this 10 day period, when from the outside it seems as if nothing is happening, the caterpillar is going through its incredible metamorphosis becoming a delicate and beautiful butterfly.

This second generation Monarch then flies northward another 500 or so miles and the does the same thing laying eggs, creating the third generation. And the third does the same to create the fourth generation which is the generation which will fly into Canada. But this fourth generation is special. They are the real workhorses of the species. They don’t create a fifth generation. They will create next year’s first – back in Mexico.

The fourth generation of the migrating Monarch will live longer than his brethren. While his brothers and sisters live only 2 to 3 months, this last generation of the year will live 7 or 8. It will make the trip all the way from Canada back to Mexico after stopping to winter in warmer climates along its way home. Then in February and March it will lay the eggs for the first generation of next year’s migration.

How does it do what it does? How does the fourth generation know to fly home to Mexico? How does the first generation know to start flying north to Canada? Even if it knows where to go, how does it get there? It never flies in a straight line. It looks like its flying whichever way the wind blows.

But it’s not.

The Monarch has a plan and a purpose. That plan and purpose is built into it. They use their antennae and inner compass to help them. The Monarch has a goal in mind from the moment it hatches from its egg as a caterpillar. It will go through many life stages and travel many places along the way. It will zig and it will zag but it is always headed in the right direction. We see the Monarch in our gardens and think it cannot possibly get to where it is trying to go but don’t be fooled – it can get there from here.

And so can we.

Like the Monarch we have a built-in plan and a purpose. We have dreams and goals. And we have many life stages too. But our trouble is we let our life stages interrupt our plan and purpose. We don’t act like the Monarch and allow our stages and our own metamorphosis help us. We have a tendency to let them hang us up. And keep us in our first or second generation when we are miles from our destination.

But as the Monarch relies on their antennae and internal compass to help them find their way we must rely on our Inner Guide and Compass to lead us through and show us the way. The Monarch does not travel alone and neither do we. When Jesus left he told us He was leaving behind a Helper to teach us, guide us and get us to where we needed to go. (John 15:26). We need only rely on and trust our Helper to guide us to our destination. Our Compass will always point us in the right direction.

We fly crazy zig-zag patterns all day long and it looks like there is just no way to get there from here. But there is. We just have to act like a butterfly.
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