Women's Corner                                                                                        June 14, 2006

Two in the Saddle

 

    Alone. No one likes to be alone, no matter what they may tell you. Oh, I’m not talking about getting away from it all by yourself for awhile, or having and enjoying your privacy, or having those Calgon "take me away" moments. I am talking about being alone. We don’t like it. We weren’t created for it. We were made for community. The Word of God says that Jesus himself often retreated to a quiet place by himself. Even so, Jesus was never alone. He carried the fullness of the triune Godhead with Him. Only at one point in time did Jesus experience aloneness, and that evidenced by His words- "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46) For those moments that He suffered on the cross, He was totally alone, so that we would never have to be.

    In this little corner of the world, much of our daily work is on horseback. OK... well maybe the 4-wheeler has replaced the horse... but it used to be done on horseback., and I know of a few spots on several local ranches that can still only be worked on horseback. Even the horses prefer the buddy system to going it alone. In our rugged country in the Southwest, it is always better to ride together. (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

    Life is pretty rugged country, too. It is not wise for us to ride alone. Susie Luchsinger sings a song called "Two in the Saddle". Part of the chorus says:

" When the Lord’s in your heart, There’s two in the saddle, and you’ll never ride alone again."

    Too many of us choose to ride alone, thinking our independence proves our worth and ability. We choose to ride alone to prove we are capable and strong. We are worthwhile. We do have God -given abilities. We can be capable and strong. We can be all those things and still not ride alone. Those qualities will actually only be brought to their fullest potential when we DON’T ride alone. ( Alone [apart from Me], you can do nothing. John 15:5). Even in our moments of solitude and privacy and enjoyment of being by ourselves, we always have a need to be with ( we settle down with a cup of hot chocolate, with a good book, and relax with a good movie).

    I worked with a local ranch when my children were younger. My daughter was too young and inexperienced to ride alone in a pasture of cattle, so we rode together--two in the saddle. It was uncomfortable for me- more difficult to maneuver my steed, and she would rather have had her own mount, no matter how little and inexperienced she may have been. But, we had a purpose- to work the cattle, and to accomplish that purpose, we had to ride together. God has a purpose for each of our lives, too, we are not to just ride willy-nilly through the pastures of life. He has something specific in mind for each of us to accomplish. It can only be done with two in the saddle.

    Esther and I were two in the saddle one day, moving the herd from one pasture to another down a long vega. We had gotten most of the cattle through the final gate. The sky had darkened, the rain was forming, and the other riders were sent back to the house corrals to tie up some other loose ends before the downpour. Suddenly, one pair broke out, afraid to go through the gate. One rider remained with us, close to the gate, getting the count right. All at once, it was 2 bovines, one horse, and way too much pasture to even think of. The rain started pouring, the calf got nervous, and there was no way I was going to let this duo past me. We kicked into high gear. I quickly told Esther to keep her head down and hold on. She obediently lowered her head, almost to the point of resting her chin on her two fists, which were fervently clutching the saddle horn. We zigged and zagged, dashed this way and that, cut here and there in the rain, and finally worked the calf and his mama to the fence line and through the gate. I flew off the horse and hurriedly flung the green gate closed. The thrill of the task and its accomplishment washeady. We had done it!

    Notice a few things with me. As in our lives, the task required a team effort. Esther could not have done it alone. I could not have done it without Esther’s obedience. We could not have done the job if she had insisted on continuing to chatter away, pointing out the scenery or whatever interested her, with her head up high and looking around, calling my attention to this or that. We can not do the tasks of life before us alone. God cannot accomplish His purpose in our lives, the tasks he has for us to do with Him, without our obedience.

    We waste alot of time in our lives thinking that we have something to prove by doing it alone. We cannot do it alone. We weren’t meant for that. The sooner we realize that we don’t have to, the sooner we can get to the task of riding through this life with the One who created it for us and who knows how and why and all of the other details of the ride.

    When the Lord is in our heart, we have 2 in our saddle, and we do not ever have to ride alone again. Having Esther in the saddle in front of me while riding was actually pretty cool. I enjoyed wrapping my arms around her and her being snug and warm in my enfold. I am sure that she enjoyed being encircled with stronger arms in safety and security. It may have been dangerous or scary at times, but we were in this together, and she knew that I would take care of her, no matter what. And did I mention that I always held the reins?!