You know Sapphire, our old faithful horse who took us on many open wagon rides — she had some trouble to deal with this summer. It was nothing we’d have chosen. She ended up with a gash in her leg, resulting in her getting even more stiff. At 23 years old, she had seemed to have an onset of arthritis. We had someone come out to take a look at her. The news we got wasn’t what we had been hoping for. “There is little hope to get her back to where she was, if she does pull through ...”
Well, she was a part of Daniel, so to speak, and it didn’t look like an easy thing. I thanked the Lord for the years we had with her, wiped some tears, and wondered what would happen next. I bade her farewell and thanked her for what she had done for us.
I decided against shopping for another horse for the time being. Sometimes I would pause outside the buggy shed and look at the cruiser, thinking how the wagon rides would be a thing of the past for the next year or more until we got a new horse. I didn’t feel the urge to go horse shopping just yet.
Several weeks later, Father’s Day rolled around. That morning the children and I knelt to pray. In a simple way we gave the day ahead to the Father above. Without premeditating it, I asked God for something — just a token of this special day when the absence of a father figure in our home was keenly felt.
Honestly, I totally forgot we had even prayed that little prayer. The following morning, I had a call from a family in the community. They wanted to come see us and bring a horse they thought might be a match for our family. We all waited eagerly. It was after supper when the truck and trailer pulled into our drive. We rang the dinner bell to signal the boys, who had been fishing, to come at once. We all stood around analyzing, talking, and asking questions. Every time the conversation drifted to money or costs, there were only vague answers and the topic would be steered elsewhere. After we took the five-year-old mare on a drive, there was little doubt whether or not we’d like to keep her. She was as gentle and chill as could be while being harnessed and hitched, but could really move once she got on the road. The boys were impressed to learn she had once been a racehorse, which meant she could do at least 30 mph at one point. Our guests were ready to leave when I was told, “She is yours, no payment needed.”
I stared, my voice gone.
What is a person to say in such a case, anyway?
“I don’t have anything to say,” I managed, knowing it would be taken as I meant it and there would be time for words later.
“That’s okay,” they assured us, and were off.
I turned toward the house. Josh and his wife and daughters had come for the evening. I told them what had been said about the horse. “Happy Father’s Day,” Josh said simply.
I gasped — yes, we had asked God for “something” for Father’s Day, we just didn’t mean anything like this! I told them what we had prayed the day before. Surely there is a Father who is a father to one and all!
Now for a name — how can something that simple be that challenging? Twice we thought we really had a good one, but both times it just hasn’t quite seemed right after we used it for several days. Okay, we’ll wait; maybe it will click one of these times. Sometimes while out on a drive, I’ll suggest a name that is really no option at all, just to hear the children protest and laugh. The latest one I threw out there was Abundant Hope. Oh my, we all laughed together. I’ll keep throwing out names and see where we end up.
This mare is calm enough for even the youngest children to lead her. This week when Hosanna and Jesse decided to unhitch her by themselves, I looked out the window in time to see them at work. When they discovered they had forgotten to unrein her, Hosanna popped up with a solution. “I’ll hold you up.” Though they are relatively the same size, she grabbed him around the waist and lifted him as far as she could while he reached for the rein. The best memories are homemade, you know.
Though we all liked Sapphire, she did have her share of little quirks we had learned to work with — she never was a child’s horse. “Children, God never takes anything away from us without giving us something better in return,” I reminded them. I took a deep breath myself; sometimes it’s just more real than others, isn’t it?
Hosanna is planning to make these trail mix bars for us to take along on a drive with the new horse. As you bite into them, close your eyes and picture yourself going down a little country road, fresh air wisping around your hair, and the clip-clop ringing in your ears-welcome aboard!
Trail Mix Bars
5 cups Rice or Corn Chex
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, shelled (optional)
1 cup honey or maple syrup
1-16 ounce jar of peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup M&Ms
Combine chex, raisins and sunflower seeds in a large bowl. Heat honey, peanut butter and vanilla over medium heat until peanut butter has melted. Pour over cereal mixture and mix well. Press into 9 X 13 container and sprinkle with M & Ms.
Gloria Yoder is an Amish house-wife in rural Illinois. She is the third writer of The Amish Cook column since its inception in 1991. Yoder can be reached by writing: The Amish Cook, P.O. Box 157, Middletown, Ohio 45042.
