The Thrill of Giving
By Cindy Prindle
Rising Son Youth Ranch,St Joseph, MO
Do you ever have, “down days”? You know, days when you don’t know how to get out of your own way and you wonder where life is taking you and what purpose your life is serving? I used to have lots of those days, but I’ve found a solution – well, really, the Lord showed me the cure for my, “down days”. The Lord has a cure for your down days too; it’s called, GIVING. Now, I’m not talking about your money, so don’t tune me out just yet. Yes, the money we have is given to us by God, and we need to give a share back to Him, but I’m talking about giving of yourself. When we give of ourselves for others, we receive a multitude of blessings back. Let me give you some examples from my own life.
My family and I run, Rising Son Youth Ranch; where we give riding therapy for at risk and special needs children. Yes, there are many blessings every day, but also lots of hard work and many discouragements. It’s easy to get our eyes off the Lord and His purpose for us here, and set them on circumstances and set backs. But, when we focus on the Lord, (Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith…”) then he shows us our purpose and blesses us beyond our dreams. Ephesians 3:20-21 says, “ Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, forever and ever, AMEN.”
When we give a child the opportunity to spend time with a horse, that child learns and grows and develops self confidence; the family is blessed, and so are we. It’s quite a thrill! Recently, we had 3 of our beginner riders take their first solo ride on a horse. I have to tell you, I’m still floating on cloud nine from that experience. I want to tell you about one child in particular; I’ll call him Bobby.
Bobby is a special needs child of 14 years with no self confidence. His mother tells us that when ever he tries to do something, he just ends up telling her, “I can’t”. Riding has been different though. Right from the start, Bobby has been so excited about, “riding all by myself” that he hasn’t allowed his self doubt to slow him down. After only 3 lessons, Bobby is asking, “can I do it all by myself now?” I worry that if he’s not ready, this may set him back, so I have him practice one more week. As he leaves, he says, “Next week, I’m gonna do it all by myself!” I don’t discourage him; I take it to the Lord for His wisdom and timing.
Next week finally comes. Bobby is SURE he’s ready, so we go into the riding ring with me leading, Bazz. Bobby’s horse is a 16 year old Arabian gelding; donated by a friend of the ranch. He’s a perfect gentleman whom I can trust Bobby to completely. We practice turning and stopping and then I look up at Bobby and say, “Are you sure?” He shakes his head, yes, and I let Bazz go. Bobby directs Bazz to the edge of the ring and rides all the way around. When they come back to the gate, Bazz stops. We encourage Bobby to urge him to go, and he does. Before we know it, Bobby is trotting confidently around the ring with a grin that stretches from ear to ear, and we are cheering him on. Even after the ride is over, Bobby is so proud of himself, he’s bursting with the news and tells us over and over, “I knew I could do it all by myself!” This is a real break through. Now the healing really begins.
My heart is overflowing with the blessing of helping this family. Each week, we give hours of our time to help families; and the Lord just continues to encourage our hearts with new blessings. You, too, can receive these blessings by giving of yourself. Visit a sick friend, or a shut in neighbor, or someone in a nursing home. Pray for someone, and then stay in touch so you can see the answers to your prayers. Volunteer where you feel you can make a difference. When we help others with a heart of love, we too are blessed. Live a life of giving of your-self and the blessings never stop. What a Thrill!