Horses are my daughter Cyndi’s first love. She lives out in Colorado, but every chance I get I like to watch her at her job as a trainer, working with other peoples’ horses and teaching their owners to ride. But even Cyndi’s been thrown and kicked on occasion. Horses are big animals, and they can be unpredictable.
“Even for a horse whisperer like you, Cyndi,” I reminded her on the phone one morning. “Please be careful.”
“Horse trainer,” she corrected me with a laugh. “Don’t worry so much, Mom.”
“Just remember that you’re covered in prayer,” I said.
Not a day went by when I didn’t ask God to watch over Cyndi at the stables, especially if I couldn’t be there with her.
God, please watch over my daughter today, I thought as I hung up the phone. I had a strange, unsettled feeling this morning.
A little while later my phone rang. It was Cyndi. “You won’t believe it, Mom,” she said. “I was riding in the arena. And my friend Nicky was behind me—she saw it all. My horse caught a hoof and fell forward onto the ground. I was thrown over his head. The horse did a somersault and landed right on top of me!”
I could barely speak I was so horrified. It was my worst fear. First she fell from the saddle, then she was crushed under an 800-pound horse? How had she survived?
“Are you all right, Cyndi?” I finally managed to ask.
“Mom, I’m fine,” she said, her voice full of wonder. “The horse lay there for a few seconds, all four hooves in the air. Then he rolled off of me. Nicky told me it was like watching a film in slow motion. The horse stood up. Then I stood up too and went inside. I looked at myself in the mirror and knew that God had protected me. I had no broken bones. No head injuries. Just some bruises—and a face full of dirt.”
Cyndi got right back in the saddle after that day. She loves horses as much as she ever did. And I’m more convinced than ever of the protective power of prayer.
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