Was that a commercial? AT&T maybe? Or a song? I hate being stupid (old).
Well this weekend I felt absolutely horrible. I’m usually pretty good at sensing people’s needs, or interests, but I blew it.
One of the beautiful young ladies in our youth group, who is graduating High School this year, is a horse enthusiast. This I knew. I also knew she had several horses. She is extremely shy and a very private individual. Usually if you meet someone who loves horses you can engage them, or they engage you in a conversation. Just mention horses and even a shy person will tell you all about theirs, but I didn’t find that with this young girl. I’ve known her for about 6 years. She would answer questions I asked with a simple yes or no and a smile, but the conversations never went anywhere so I backed off. But at the graduation celebration at our church yesterday, I was surprised to learn of the depth of her interest. She wants to further her education in equine studies, and then pursue a carrier with horses.
I was truly blown away when I realized how much I could have shared with her over the last six years or more. I guess I should have pushed more, but with some people it just scares them away, and I didn’t want to do that.
But yesterday we found that connection. Her smile grew bigger and prettier than I had ever seen it. Maybe she’s moving out of her innocent child like shyness into adulthood, or maybe she just opened herself up to trusting me. It doesn’t matter, because we can move forward from here.
My first reaction was that I was too late because she’s going off to college, but it’s never too late. I guess that’s the point of this post. It’s never too late to help someone, not only with horse issues, but life issues. I guess it all goes back to my original philosophy. “Teach what you’ve learned and one less horse will suffer from ignorance, and never stop learning.”
After this I would also like to say, “Never stop reaching out.” The one that gets away may just be the most important one of your life.
Reflecting on this while I write, I realize what I would have done was not what God had in mind. His timing is always perfect, and right now, I’m right on time.
Don’t hesitate to reach out and touch someone, but wait on God’s perfect timing. After all, Father knows best. Now I know that was a TV show in the 50’s.