A Future and a Hope

My sister is really wonderful and does so many good deeds. She is fond of saying that in her case, "No good deed ever goes unpunished." It does seem that way sometimes. I read recently of one of the people on the abortion mill sidewalk pleading with a mother to spare the child she carried and not enter the place of death. To reward his compassion, someone spit in his face. Some reward for his obedience to the Lord he loved and the desperate desire to spare the woman and the baby from the emotional and physical horror of abortion.

Then I read the depressed wail of a dear friend, a dog rescuer, whose home is filled with cast-off dogs. She gets few breaks, spends every last penny to care for them, and as they grow old and increasingly feeble, must find ways to afford the increasing vet bills. Yet, she would never abandon them because she made a commitment to help them, and she would not shrink from the task because it is hard, and sometimes overwhelming. I think anyone who extends themselves on behalf of others has periods of great despair, feeling used and abused by the very people they strive to help. Every mother probably experiences that from her children at various times. Doing good, and being obedient to God's call is not for the faint of heart.

I have a very full week. We leave Friday for two weeks of college visits, and visits to family up North. I need to pack, organize, and schedule a thousand loose ends. In the meantime, I ought to be marketing my book ( you can help with that - copy this link and send it to everyone you know: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tower-Builder-Vicky-Kaseorg/dp/1494434997 . I know you don't think you would enjoy a book about radio towers, but you are wrong. This is a good book. I promise.)

Nonetheless, I hurried from one important meeting to dash away to fulfill my commitment to teach art at a nearby nursing home. The residents seem to really enjoy it, and are a very uncondemning audience. I know they look forward to my art class...but I wish I had thought more carefully about how busy this week was going to be before I scheduled the class. As I pulled into the nursing home, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a miniature horse (but no tiny reindeer.) I leaped from the car and dashed over to the horse, who was nibbling ineffectually at the cement on the portico of the nursing home.

"I want you!" I cried. The owner was very accommodating, and answered my barrage of questions. The questions were mostly how I could go about getting one of these. (Hubby, if you are reading this, this is what I want for Mother's Day....) The horse lives in her backyard, which is legal in Charlotte! She is house trained, and only poops in her spot in the backyard. She eats a cup of grain a day, and munches the grass. The owner told me she only costs about fifty cents a day to feed. She got her for $100. This is less expensive cost/upkeep than a dog. As I hugged the horse, some of my art students sat on the front porch, watching.

"Let's just cancel class and go buy a horse," I suggested.

You just never know what might greet you when you open yourself to the world. The last thing I expected to see in volunteering at a nursing home was an adorable miniature horse. I have never in my life gotten to pet and cuddle a miniature horse! It was a highlight and unexpected joy, a sprinkling of the pleasures of walking towards God. I know it is such a little blessing, and probably not much to offer to those who battle in the trenches day after day, and only encounter more mud and caving-in walls. However, God promises us that when we continue in His will, He has mighty plans for us, for a future and a hope if we do not give up.

Don't give up. Just around the corner you might find the precious muzzle of a miniature horse.
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Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Numbers 14:24

But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

James 1:12 

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Colossians 3:23-24 

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

2 Peter 3:9 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.