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Dear Covenant Friends,
Last year about this time, I was still recovering from a traumatic accident on the ridgeline of a 12,000-foot mountain in Wyoming. As part of an advanced trail ride, our group ended up off trail and ten horses scrambled to find their footing. The horse I rode (Sarah) tried to find space for herself and her rider, but stumbled badly and went down hard, and I was briefly pinned underneath her body. I was lucky to end up only with badly bruised ribs and a temporary limp.
This year we returned to the same ranch, and I rode a different horse all week. I never asked about, or encountered, Sarah. On the last day, the wranglers hosted an event called “hanging with the herd”, the premise being that humans are typically in relationships of power and control over horses, and this was a time to enter their space (the corral) without harnesses, ropes, or an agenda. Ten of us were instructed to walk in silently, without approaching and of the thirty horses, and wait. Twenty minutes went by in that dry and dusting place without much happening. And then, from the far side of the corral, Sarah made her way over to me. She smelled my boot and my hand, and then touched her soft muzzle to my forehead in what felt like a kiss of blessing.
Afterwards, a few of the wranglers told me how moved they were to watch this unfold and said they felt Sarah was offering an apology. I don’t know if horses do such things, but it doesn’t matter, because I had already forgiven her for falling. Eventually I forgave myself too- for not being able to dismount before she fell, for my inability to lead her onto stable ground.
Sometimes animals teach us what we cannot see on our own. That there is grace in trying our best even if we fall. That there is forgiveness and a new beginning. That peace and healing are possible without words.
Today is the International Day of Peace. Let peace begin with me and let it begin with you too. Forgive someone…and make a new beginning.
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