I recently read the story of a young equestrian rider, Morgan and her horse Endo. In her teens, Morgan had been diagnosed with Lupus, a disease that attacks your own body. Morgan struggled as the disease worsened through the years. She even considered at one time taking her life with an overdose of pills. The one thing that stopped her was her thoughts of Endo, the horse her grandmother had given her as a foal when she was 13. They had grown up together. Morgan was now 28 and about to do something that three years earlier she thought would never be possible.
Three years prior, Endo lost his sight and had his eyes surgically removed. Her horse was blind. Through his blindness, Endo would teach Morgan to be a survivor. The day following his surgery, Morgan expected Endo to be clumsily or worse, in terror, thrashing around bumping into walls in his stall. When she went out to tend to him she found the opposite. Endo would turn around in his stall and maneuver his way around as if he had not a care in the world. He never bumped into a wall, feeder, or any other obstacle in his stall. Later, as she sat on the floor talking to him, he was eating straw from the pile beneath her feet.
Morgan cared for and tended her horse as usual, every day. In time, they began riding again. This required trust on both horse and rider. Endo trusted Morgan’s voice and hand guidance. Morgan had to trust Endo would not spook or balk at a jump throwing her frail body to the ground.
On this day, three years after Endo’s eye surgery, they were competing in a prestigious equestrian event in Oregon with 11 obstacles to avoid. Not only did they compete, they won first place. They have competed and performed in the US and Canada since. In 2016 they performed in the Breyerfest Carnival in the horse capitol of Lexington, KY.
Like Endo and other animals, people also are very adaptive. With proper care and love we can move on beyond our infirmities and hardships. Morgan and Endo built trust in each other. The trust they built after their afflictions was founded in the life they had lived together prior to those afflictions. Our trust in each other is based on our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Let us pray for, care for, and trust one another in order to accomplish all that God has placed us here for.
George Yates is a Church Health Strategist and life coach assisting pastors, churches, and individuals to reach their God-given potential.