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It was the Sunday after Christmas. The morning service had ended, and
our threesome was sitting in a restaurant. Acting as hostess on behalf
of a local church was a senior pastor's wife. Until her husband, one of
our former district officials, was promoted into the Presence of the
Lord several years ago, she had pastored with him in another town. Now
this assembly was utilizing her talents, and she assisted wherever
needed.
This was the last Sunday of my three months tenure as the church's
interim pastor; the new pastor would be arriving with the New Year. At
the board's request, our hostess had taken my wife, Maria, and me to
dinner.
The food was excellent; the service was courteous and efficient. At the
meal's conclusion, the hostess handed the waitress a church check,
adding a generous tip to the amount of the bill.
We were engaged in conversation over coffee when the waitress again
approached, lingering as though reluctant to leave. We complimented her
on her service and she immediately engaged us in conversation.
She was only a part-time waitress, she informed us. For some thirty
years, her main vocation was training racehorses.
We listened attentively as she recounted her experiences. Amiably, she
told of a special race one of her horses had won, described foaling
procedures, the patience required to make a horse profitable, and the
terrible sense of loss felt when an animal had to be put down. It all
was very interesting; it was apparent the woman knew and loved horses.
During her account, I could sense my companions praying with me for an
opening to witness her. The waitress knew we were affiliated with a
church; the church name on the check was visibly noticeable. Obviously,
she had not randomly selected us for conversation. She was interested
in more than horses. But, I wondered, how could we make a transition
from horses to Christ?
Finally, deciding to risk sounding flippant, I yielded to an urge to
ask if she knew there were horses in heaven. Jesus would be returning
to earth riding a white horse, I added. His armies would be with Him,
also mounted on horses.
She hoped it would be soon; no one else had the solution to earth's
problems. When asked if she was ready for Christ's return, she
hesitated. She sometimes attended services with her fiancée at the
local veteran's hospital, she informed us.
Tactfully, our threesome led the conversation into God's plan of
salvation, recounting to her the story of Jesus and Nicodemus. We
followed this with the story of the Philippian jailer. As we spoke, her
features visibly softened and her eyes grew moist; the Gospel had
touched her.
Without hesitation, she permitted us to pray with her. In full view of
other diners and her coworkers, without evident embarrassment, she
joined hands with us and bowed her head. The enveloping presence of the
Holy Spirit was gentle as our hostess prayed, asking the Lord to reveal
Himself to the horse trainer and redeem her.
Invited to visit the church, the woman seemed receptive, mentioning
that she had watched with interest the construction of the church’s new
sanctuary. She owned a Bible and, after promising to read the Gospel of
John and the book of Acts, she returned to her duties.
THERE ARE HORSES IN HEAVEN! What a childlike statement. In our quest
for profundity, we tend to relegate such simple themes to the realm of
allegory. We feel foolish conferring on them a serious voice. But, with
infinite unpretentiousness, God anoints simplicity to seed His Word in
receptive hearts. Heaven's horses opened a wedge for the Gospel,
focusing a horse trainer's attention on Christ, the greatest Equestrian
of all!
» left by Betty Haynes from Ararat Va (1 year 233 days ago.)
What a wonderful heartfelt story. Horse are mentioned 119 times in the Bible and I enjoy using the verses with my animal rescue work. Bless you. Respond to this comment
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