When I was a little girl, I wanted a horse more than anything. But because we didn’t live in the country, owning a horse just wasn’t a possibility. My grandmother who lived two hours away had a horse, Charlie Horse, and I think to ease my heart, she’d tell me that the horse was mine.
But I didn’t let that stop me from riding. No. I took advantage of the opportunities surrounding me … and my ride turned into a gallop around the entire yard.
Barefoot.
Completely content. Joyous. Unashamed.
A good friend always told her boys, “You get what you get.” That meant … you’ll eat your supper. You’ll wear that shirt. You’ll play that game. You get what you get.
That so applies to life. We don’t always get what we want, do we?
What do you want?
What do I want? What are my heart’s desires?
Peace, love, purpose, life.
~And a wealth of adjectives, behind and before, to accompany every one of those nouns, some that only God knows.
Sometimes, we just … get what we get. It’s up to us to evaluate the surrounding opportunities and decide what we’ll pass on to our children, family, friends. In this short time we have.
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| Our sweet baby at 18 months, after six months of chemotherapy … her hair finally coming in. And she can finally walk! |
What are the surrounding opportunities?
A child’s tiny hand to hold.
A baby’s dress to fold.
A teenager turning bold.
A kid’s self-esteem to mold.
A pup needing aid from cold.
A spouse to value as gold.
A story waiting to be told.
Take it and ride. Gallop around the yard. Gallop around the pasture.
Gallop with abandon.
Completely content. Joyous. Unashamed.
Barefoot.
Feel God’s loving breath in your face.
Feel His hands hem you in behind … and before.
Feel His hand laid upon you.
You get what you get.
Yeah, I’ll take that.
beautiful thing.
Shelli Littleton 
Wonderful, wonderful words in your post and in the song. Shelli, I used to pretend I was a horse–so much fun. <3 Now my dream is for my children to "run with the horses ".
Blessings & hugs ~ Wendy ❀
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Aw, Wendy … your words gave me goose bumps. Run with the horses. I love the instruments in that song … oh, they stir my heart.
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When I was little, I wanted a dog. I'd drool over the selection of breeds under “dog” in the World Book Encyclopedia. I think the dalmation was usually my choice. (I loved the movie 101 Dalmations.) We never had a dog. My dad's allergic to them. These days I know many of the neighborhood dogs on my bike route.
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Aw, Terri. We had dogs growing up, but small ones. Since I've been grown, I've only had one … a German shepherd. She lived some 13 years. A good dog. The best. But … I doubt we'll get another one … allergies in our house, too. We have cats now … 🙂
I deleted my other comment because it had a mistake in it … forgot it would leave that silly “delete” indicator. Pooh! 🙂
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This post got me thinking, Shelli. Thank you. Reminds me of Stephan Curtis Chapman's “The Great Adventure” when he sings “saddle up your horses…” I just went and listened to it. Love that song. Love life with our Savior!
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Melodie, I love that song! “Saddle up your Horses” … how fitting for this post. Thank you for sharing it. Life with our Savior … the best ever! No matter what. 🙂
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