Amen!

“Miss Jill, I wish I could ride a horse,”  Collin was here with his little sister, Katie.  She receives equine therapy once a week.  He would wait at the fence and watch the pony as it took Katie on a new adventure every week. 

I glanced at his mom, and gave her a thumbs up or thumbs down to indicate whether it would be alright if I gave him a ride after I finished with Katie.  His mother gave me the thumbs up and I told Collin that this may be his lucky day.  With that, he started to jump up and down.

After the lesson was finished he followed me to the gate.  Once inside the riding ring, he began to jump with excitement.  He ran, not allowed, to the tack shack and got a helmet.  Within seconds the helmet was secure and he was talking to himself, “I am going to ride a horse, something I have wanted to do all of my life.”

I told him to go to the mounting block.  As a normal and mandatory practice, we always pray before we ride.  We ask God to protect the rider, to teach through us, and that He would always be glorified here.  We hold hands and touch the horse or pony, forming an irregular circle.  At the end of the prayer we gently squeeze each others hands and say “Amen.”

That’s when the lesson begins, but for Collin the lesson began as soon as we started praying.  He was like a sponge thirsty to grab onto all that is done here at the farm.  His little body swung into the saddle, his body erect, he had overheard the many lessons for Katie and he told me he knew what to do.

Walking around the ring, he found a new sense of freedom and periodically he would shout out, “Amen!”

At first I thought he had misunderstood Amen to mean a command in riding.  Not wanting to embarrass him, I tried to figure out what he was associating Amen to.  It was haphazard, his Amen had no rhyme or reason.  I finally asked him why he was saying Amen.

“Miss Jill Amen means Thank You LORD!”

“You are right Collin, Thank You LORD is what we need to say when we are on a horse.”

He smiled his toothless grin and said that this was the best day of his life.  Riding a horse, shouting Amen (Thank You LORD), and enjoying what many would consider a great privilege. 

He sums up my farm, Thank You LORD for these children and the lives we touch.  Thank You LORD for these great ponies, and the opportunities you have given us.  To that I agree with you Collin, AMEN!