The blessings of the ranch seem to come in silent ways. However, are you watching and listening closely so you do not miss them?
Volunteering at the ranch with many different people has shown me that this ranch is not just a “horse ranch”. Yes, there is riding. However, there is much more time spent on the ground with the horses teaching the kids how to become a leader, speaking the horse’s language, building trust, and communication. It is in those quiet moments of listening and observing the interactions that go on each week that I have the privilege to observe the silent blessing shine through.
The staff and volunteers work hard to keep the ranch running smoothly and ensure that the horses are well cared for. Some of this you can see. However, so much of it is in the silence or hidden from the eyes of those who come and go.
Yet, there are traces of them being there if you watch. The community and individuals are making donations. Grants are being written to help pay for the many expenses of the ranch.
Hay is being moved. Suddenly the horse feeders go from almost empty to feeders full of hay for the horses to graze all day. A couple of the horses are moved from the lots to the stall where they are fed special meals to help them keep their weight on for the winter. With the eaten hay and special feedings comes the lots filled with horse droppings. Many days there are lots of droppings but even those seem to magically disappear. The stall hay bags go from empty to full and the water buckets are washed and filled over and over again each week without anyone really seeing the work being done. The arena floor is groomed and ready for each week of class making it so much better for the horse and volunteers who work week after week in this wonderful arena. These are only a few things that seem to magically be completed.
Then there is the blessing of the children. Once the classes are scheduled, the kids are placed in the classes that fit them best and the facilitators are assigned to care for them. A team of two or three faithfully show up week after week all year long. Suddenly the ranch is filled with many faces and unexpected surprises.
God roams this place and shows up in simple but amazing ways. You can see it and feel it if you are watching.
There are facilitators in the background planning lessons. Many times, what plans are laid out change in the twinkling of an eye because God leads them another direction as they prayed. Suddenly, what was laid out as man’s plans became the Holy Spirit’s guidance just as the Program Director has said many times to “trust the process.” It is by trusting the process that God leads these classes in directions that need to happen for the kids who show up that day to participate in whatever is laid out before them.
They don’t know what the facilitators are up to but God certainly does.
The blessings come in the silence of hugs from little ones who are just happy to see the facilitators waiting there for them. There are the quiet sudden smiles given over the back of a horse while the child or teen is braiding the horse’s mane. The laughter echoes as the littles pick up sticks, gather walnuts, run through the arena to release some of their energy.
Oh there are meltdowns, fears and panic that show up from time to time but the horses assist the leader and the kids in knowing how to handle these overwhelming emotions.
The unexpected is exactly that, God showing up in ways that none of us know will happen.
We walk with it. We bend with it. We follow the flow through the process that changes behaviors, calms the spirit, reregulates the emotions, and exposes God in so many ways to the kids that enter the gates of Narrow Gate Horse Ranch. Even the parents, guardians, and caretakers are watching and seeing the changes in these kids.
God is showing up, hearts are healing, emotions being addressed, disruptive untamed behaviors are changing and stories being told whether quietly to the horses or out loud.
Souls are becoming curious about the God we serve at this ranch.
Questions are asked and Bibles are freely given as the kids want their parents to know the God they are
beginning to hear about or know deeper. The want to know, the desire to come back each week continues to grow.
The blessings are many and show up many times in the quiet unexpected moments. Are you watching, listening, and hearing the sounds of God in the midst of the chaos of the world ? I can see him in the lives of the staff and volunteers at the ranch and the kids who come here.
God is present.
-Rita Virt, volunteer