Some years ago, people in the Northern California area were offered the opportunity to adopt a horse through the wild horse adoption program. These wild horses were gathered by the BLM from the eastern Oregon and Northern Nevada areas. The horses were brought in and vaccinated and checked for general health issues and the nicer ones were brought to local fairgrounds on certain dates to be viewed and adopted. There was only a $75 handling and transfer fee, so it was easy for many to adopt a horse.
Would-be adopters would get real excited and tell their friends that they were going to adopt a wild mustang. Most of them had no idea what they were getting themselves into. BLM workers would give some instructions and made sure they had enclosed trailers. Then they loaded them up and told the new owners to keep them in a small pen or corral until they gentled down some.
I heard some crazy stories. One guy I knew got kicked by two hind feet and both his legs were broken. Another family’s mustang bucked their daughter off and she was in the hospital for weeks. One family had a brood of tough boys, and along with about six cousins they all took a shot at riding their horse until they eventually wore her down. It wasn’t always a good experience for horse or riders.
Some of the horses escaped the pen or corral they were keeping them in. This was the situation when I received a call from a lady down the road from me. Months before their mustang had escaped out of their corral and had been running free in a four-acre field. For over a year they hadn’t been able to get close to it. She was a fancy black filly with four white socks, a small star and snip. Out of frustration they told me, “if you can catch her you can have her.” I took two horses down there and kept her running until she began to tire. I switched horses and was able to rope her and get her in my trailer. I took her home and put her in a stall. She calmed down quickly with consistent handling. We were able to ride her within a few weeks.
I thought about those people who adopted her. They had wanted to care for her, love her and be her friend but she just kept avoiding them and running away. It reminded me of how we are with God sometimes. In Ephesians 1:5 it says that “He predestined us to be adopted as His sons, through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will,” to love, care for and bless us. We are often like that filly, avoiding and running away from the one who had adopted her.
God will not rope you and drag you into a trailer, but He did give His life for you so you could be adopted as His child, into His family. Are you running away? Stop! Come to Him.
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