Loved and Kept

Woke up with a massive headache that brought on nausea and the involuntary grimace that strikes my face inside that kind of severe discomfort. Woke at 10:30 to a message from Jylle saying she called me "a ton of times" and that if I hadn't gotten those messages, then my horse was probably still in the barn. Oy.

Feeling a little better than the death-on-a-stick I felt a few hours before, I donned my outdoor gear and headed for the barn. This is what I found.
He didn't even have the decency to think he was in the teensiest bit of trouble. Horses aren't like dogs though, so spanking him on the fanny with a newspaper would only cause mayhem and total confusion, so I did what any good horse owner would do--I gave him some apples, strapped on a lead rope, and put him back in the pasture.

I still had to find the short in the electric fence if I didn't want to do this again in a few hours. I prayed what I call my fence prayer, "Lord, You have to show me where this is, or I'll miss it. You know exactly where it is--please lead me there." I set out in a different direction than I usually do when looking for a short. The dogs went ahead of me, making the snow-going a wee bit easier as I followed in their trail. Not too far along, I found the wire down near the draw into the woods. Only two posts away was a big ol' spool of wire. Snip, snip, twist, twist, and we're good to go. Still not hot though, so I kept going. First though, I responded to that strong prompt to bring along an extra piece of wire. Thirty yards later was the second break, and that extra wire was just enough to connect the two severed ends. Now it's hot. I know because I felt the bit o'shock in my thumb as I stretched the wire taut.

I stood there in the white silence, marinating in the bliss of feeling His presence in and around me. The power of His felt nearness and loving-kindness was profound, and the only proper response was worship. In my mind and heart, I constructed an altar on that spot to commemorate this event. As long as I am sound, I will look on that place and remember. I am loved. I am kept in perfect protection and provision. He is always tenderly looking after me, and there will always be an ongoing abundance of faithfulness and grace. Remember.

What started out as a chore turned into first an amusing encounter and eventually a praise time in a beautiful, warm, snowy cathedral. I don't need to stay on the mountaintop though. A time like this bolsters me inside the ordinariness of the everyday. He knew this was exactly what I needed for exactly this time. How perfectly wonderful to be loved by the Perfect.