IGNORE THE NEGATIVE CELEBRATE THE POSITIVE – DEVOTIONAL
Howdy Friends! Grandpop took another sip of long gone cold coffee. Mostly to stifle the grin and chuckle trying so hard to erupt. “Got yer hands full with that ol’ mare don’t ya my boy?”
“She’s acting stupid!” The boy shot back.
“Well this is a new venture for her. I don’t think anybody’s ever asked her to walk over them poles before.” Grandpop, still grinning, thought about helping the lad, but reasoned against it. Maybe because he was enjoying the show too much.
“Now she’s just being stubborn!” The boy tossed his hands in the air and gave a long look to Grandpop that screamed for help. “She won’t even move now!”
It had been a long twenty minutes for the mare and the boy. Not much had gone as planned, and frustration showed like a beacon on the boy’s face. And the mare’s posture. The mare, while quiet enough, just had a different direction in mind than the boy. And she let it be known.
“Why don’t ya give her a little break?” Grandpop suggested, and hopped down from the tractor seat perch he’d been enjoying and headed to aid the boy, and the mare.
He asked the boy for the lead rope, gathered it up in his hand and stood quietly between them. “Sometimes things just go downhill, and the more we twist and turn and push and shove at it, the worse it gets. Been there often enough myself.”
“Yeah, that’s where I feel like now. What do you do?”
“Ignore the negative and celebrate the positive!” Grandpop let go a chuckle.
“What?”
“Ignore the negative and celebrate the positive.” Grandpop let go another chuckle.
“I heard you. It just didn’t make any sense.”
“How about you let me have this ol’ girl a few seconds, and you give it a watch.” Grandpop smoothed the mare’s mane a bit, stroked her back and petted her a minute, then led her around in a big circle. Slowly and gently. Then he led her across the little bridge in the ring. Then back across again. He stopped and made a big deal how well she’d done that. He turned and leaned against her.
“You see, son, the best thing we can do when we get an obstacle thrown our way, with horses or life, is not always to push back determined to plow through.”
“Oh ya just give up?”
“Nope. Yeah settle into somethin’ positive. Somethin’ you can see the success of, and celebrate it, and build on it. Ignore the negative. Celebrate the positive. Then, with that little bit of uplift, for you and the situation most times it’ll work out.”
“It will?”
“Most times. See this mare was all set on not cooperatin’ with them poles. So, we went back to somethin’ she’s mastered and knows inside out. That builds her confidence. It helps her relax, refocus. If we just keep on the negative side, well, that ain’t usually the best deal. Horses and people need reassurance. A bit like our faith in God Almighty. We might get bounced a time or two, but if we focus on God’s grace He’ll get us through. Toss the negative aside, and jump on the positive.”
He handed the rope to the boy. “Take her around the circle, over the bridge, and give them poles another Go.”
~ Gitty Up, Dutch.
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Bible Verse – Proverbs 23:9 – Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.
Bible Verse – Proverbs 15:1 – A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Bible Verse – Proverbs 17:22 – A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Bible Verse – Philippians 4:8 – Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Bible Verse – Ephesians 4:29 – Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
