The Choice is Yours

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve wanted to have a foal. In the last few months, that dream has come true!

During June, my mom encouraged me to email a Nooitgedacht stud farm in the Drakensberg and see how their breeding services worked, how expensive they’d be and what stallions they had. I did so.

When I first put feelers out, that was just the beginning. I met the stallion prospects in July, and chose one for my mare. I couldn’t believe it—I was going to breed my mare! During September, I had Nina tested for any diseases.

Thankfully, she was absolutely healthy! The biggest hurdle now was getting her to the stud farm, which was scheduled to happen at the end of October. She’d stay there for 4-6 weeks in a herd setting with the stallion.

Trailering horses is one of my biggest fears. Two years ago, we had an incident when our ex-racehorse spooked inside the horsebox. He could have injured himself terribly. Praise the Lord, he didn’t! It happened just as we were pulling out the gate and we got him out quickly and safely. Nevertheless, I have a fear that a similar thing will happen with my mare, not at home, but in the middle of the road. Is it irrational? Probably.

In light of this, the idea of trailering my horse for two and a half hours has caused me much angst. I’ve prayed about it so often, I sometimes wonder if God is becoming bored of hearing the same thing over and over! (Thankfully, He loves me enduringly!)

The question burning in my thoughts was, ‘Why am I putting myself through this?’

And I have found the answer.

Instead of choosing comfort, I decided to pursue courage.

Comfort

We love comfort. That’s a fact. Just take a look around your home. As humans, we hate pushing our boundaries and trying new things. Staying in our comfort zone keeps us feeling safe. Staying in our comfort zone keeps us feeling sane. When we stay comfortable, we don’t have to trust God’s plan because we feel perfectly safe. That’s the problem.

Courage

When we live in courage, we trust every single moment of our lives to God. We start to live fully.

In fact, everybody says ‘living life to the fullest’, but what does that mean? It should describe a life wholly handed over to God. A life where you have to trust Him. I need to trust God with my fear of trailering Nina.

When we give in to fear, we hide in comfort, leaving everything the same and never doing anything with risk because we’re afraid of the consequences. Remember what the bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7, ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’

I am definitely not saying we should rush recklessly into life. We must use discernment to decide when God is allowing us to stay in our comfort zones, and when he’s asking us to step out in faith. Prayer plays a huge role in this part of the journey.

Even though I haven’t taken Nina to the stud farm yet—that will happen on the 21st of October—I have already begun to reap the benefits of choosing courage. Never in my life have I felt so completely in the hand of The Protector. Sure, I don’t know how Nina will react, but I have faith that, no matter what happens, God will be there. He will hold me in His hand. That alone is what calms my fear.

Sure, for most people, trailering a horse might not be scary. But for me, it is. In the same way, evangelising isn’t nerve-wracking for some Christians. For others, me included, it is.

But that doesn’t matter. God calls us into courage anyway.

‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’ Joshua 1:9 NIV.

In the book of Joshua alone, God commands Joshua to have courage a total of five times. Surely that means something!

You get to decide if you choose courage or comfort.

When has God called you out of your comfort zone? Have you listened?