Well, my Thanksgiving post is a little late... But it doesn't mean I'm not thankful. ;-)
At the beginning of this week, I started much more intense and difficult physical therapy for my shoulder. After not using it for two months, I got really sore really fast. It's also been waking me up quite a bit through the night too, so I haven't been sleeping real well. I was tired, in pain, and getting rather grumpy.
I was finding it pretty hard to be grateful for anything.
So, as I usually do when I'm feeling discouraged, I went across the street.
To the horses.
Horses have almost magical ways of making you feel better.
When I got there, I didn't see Holly anywhere at first. I climbed through the fence and looked around. After looking further, I see her laying down in the lope-in shelter. Although she was beneath a roof, she managed to lay right where the setting sun was shining, plus where there was a wind block, so it was nice and warm.
(Though sunny, it was around 30 degrees, and windy.)
After petting the rest of the horses and donkeys, I walked slowly over to Holly, urging her softly to stay laying down. She didn't get up, and didn't seem to mind my being there, so I slid my leg over her, and sat down on her. I then proceeded to scoot further down her back, and leaned forwards onto her. Hugging her around the neck, and burying my face in her mane, I closed my eyes and relaxed.
"Finally, a moment free of pain" I thought.
Drinking in the sunshine, and the glorious smell of horses, I reflected on the past week. The thoughts that immediately flooded my head were not good thoughts. I was thinking only of the bad things that had happened recently, rather than concentrating on the good things. I quickly realized that I hadn't been very thankful this week, in spite of Thanksgiving being in a couple of days. After arguing with myself for a few minutes;
"You've kept a pretty good attitude throughout this whole trial. Cut yourself a little slack. It's fine to be grouchy after what you've been going through." etc...
I knew deep down that all of those thoughts were wrong, but it took a few minutes to convince my inner thoughts of that. Eventually I got to the point where I was chiding myself; getting my thoughts corralled a little closer to what they should be. After seeking forgiveness from God for my horrible, ungrateful attitude, I hugged Holly again, and thanked her for her calming presence. (Not to mention how warm she kept me while I was sorting my thoughts...)
Just as I was getting ready to stand up, she started getting up too. So I took hold of her mane with one hand, and sat on her as she stood up.
Wow. Yet another thing to be grateful for. Sitting on a horse as they were standing up has been an item on my "Bucket List" for quite some time now.
Call me silly if you want, I've just always wanted to do that. And now I have.
So to end my little story here, I'm going to write down a list of things I'm most grateful for:
My God and Savior
His Holy Word
Horses
Donkeys
Amazing Friends
Far away Friends
Family
Delicious Food
Boots
Jeans
Cattle (don't ask..)
The South Wind
Cricks
Shirts with snaps
Big Sky days
Sunny weather
Wide open fields
Mud
Trucks
Cameras
Camouflage
Plaid
The color grey
Wood
Trees
Doctors
Technology
The sound of hoof beats
Dogs
Cats
The smell of leather
and horses
and wood
Music
Fiddles
Guitars
Mandolins
Banjos
Dobros
I'm going to force myself to stop there....
I thought this gal was a neat color, so I snapped a picture.
Kyle's ol' Buick.
One of my cats, Rachel-gal
(Who is, by the way, the best mouser ever!)
Betty.... I couldn't stop laughing when I saw what I had captured.
People say I'm crazy for loving wind so much....
Check out the names on these two's tags... haha!
One of my most recent wood-burnings. I can't decide whether to try and sell it or not.
So, Happy Thanksgiving to all of my wonderful friends!!
Stay happy!
