Karen's Coloum - July - Safe Place
Stephanie Puris, Monday, 29 June 2009Safe Place I recently enjoyed reading a delightful story by one of Australia’s natural horsemen. He was telling his readers how to get their horses to relax in situations where they would normally be nervous. One of John’s methods for training horses is the use of pressure. Whenever a horse tries to shy away from an object, John puts enough pressure on the horse to make it feel uncomfortable. When the horse chooses to move towards the object they are afraid of, the pressure stops and they get a big pat. Over time, this makes the horse realise that it is going to be more comfortable if it moves towards the object and doesn’t shy away. To illustrate how effective this method of training is, John told the story about one of his horses that had a distinct fear of tyres. After a few sessions of pressure and release, John had taught his horse that if he moved away from the tyre he would feel discomfort, but the more he moved towards the tyre, the less pressure he would feel and the more comfortable he’d become. The horse soon learned to jump up onto the filled-in tractor tyre because there the pressure stopped and he got a great big pat and felt safe. Success! One day when John was giving a lecture, some dogs started fighting and their barking scared a baby. She began screaming and all the noise made John’s horse nervous. All by himself, the horse cantered over and jumped onto the tractor tyre where he waited for the trouble to stop. This was his safe place! If only life was as simple for us as it is for our horses! If only there was somewhere we could go to feel safe from the stresses of life. One of my favourite sayings is, “We live and learn”. I love it because it’s true. Perhaps an unstated goal in life is to ‘grow as you go’. As life progresses we gain more experience, we extend our capabilities, we grow more secure, we develop our beliefs (even when we don’t realise we’re doing this)… in fact we end up growing so much that a childhood version of ourself probably wouldn’t recognise us. And thankfully none of us are finished products yet. There is still more growth, development and splendour in our lives to come. Yay!!! I liked the question the facilitator asked at our pony club forum a year or two ago. She asked, “If there were no impossibilities and you could wave a magic wand, what would you change about Pony Club?” I liked this question because often when we think about change, we come at it from a negative perspective. We think of what we can’t do and why we can’t do it. I enjoyed the freshness of imagining what we’d like to achieve if there were no limits. Well I’d like to ask that same question – but not about pony club - about life. If there were no limitations, no impossibilities, what would you change? I would start by taking away my sister’s illness. My friends whom I car pool with would have their ten year old daughter wake up from her coma. My riding partner would have her cancer disappear. I bet there are some big things you’d love to change too. Unfortunately I don’t have a magic wand and can’t change any of those things, but I can offer you something that has meant the world to me. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world. I give you the gift of peace of mind and heart. This peace I give you is not the kind of peace the world offers, but a deep peace that will surpass your understanding.”* This week I have been reading “Miracle on the River Kwai.’ It is the biography of Earnest Gordon who was a prisoner of war (POW) during World War II. He and his fellow captives experienced the very worst life could throw at them. But as a starving, tortured, despairing POW in a literal hell hole, he and hundreds of others prisoners found unexplainable peace in the midst of their suffering, through coming to faith in God. When you’re hurting, when problems seem so huge you are drowning under their weight, you need a tractor tyre. God longs to be that place of security, help and comfort for you. Don’t miss out on getting peace when you need it most. God is your safe place – your ‘tractor tyre.’ Why not ask him for a share in his peace? Wishing you unexplainable peace, Karen Moreton Chaplain J *(From the gospel of John chapter 14) Karen’s previous columns are available in the publications section of this website.
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