A friend of mine came riding out to my horse trailer one night as I was just starting to load my horse. He seemed anxious and wanted me to turn one more steer for his son who was real close to winning a buckle. He needed one more partner to increase his chances of winning it. I had roped pretty well that night but hadn’t won anything. My horse was unsaddled and I was tired and ready for a long trip home.
He remained persistent in his desire for me to help his son. I explained that it was late and I didn’t really want to saddle my horse up again. He immediately said “Take my horse and ride her like you own her.” Without hesitation I said “We’ll have to adjust the stirrups,” which we did together. I climbed aboard and headed toward the arena while he went running to enter us up before the entries closed.
There were only a few teams left so within three minutes or so we were getting the call to be in the box. I began to think to myself just how crazy this was. I didn’t know anything about this horse! I didn’t know how she scored, ran, how much rein to give her. Did she rate, break hard, duck, or pull like a freight train? I mean I’d never been on this horse! I thought about how much faith I was putting in my friend, his horse, and he in me.
“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see.” Heb 11:1. I felt a lot of uncertainty at this moment and no time to worry about it. To have a relationship with someone requires faith. To believe in someone you can’t see is even more difficult. God asks us to step out in faith by believing in the sacrifice His Son made for each one of us. He is rewarded of faith. It pleases Him to know that we will trust Him with certainty in unfamiliar territory.
As it turned out his horse was a really nice and responsive head horse. I caught the steer and turned it, unfortunately his son missed the heel shot. He came back with another partner later and won the buckle. Let go of your comfort zone and step out in faith. It’s a risk I know, but so was climbing on that mare. He will reward your efforts and become a great friend. Rope great, have a fun and successful Finals. Thanks for your comments and prayer requests. Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.