If you happen to come to Cool, California and hear the shrill “call of the wild” of what sounds like a woman laughing hysterically, it could be you are close to where I live with my family, dogs and ponies.
Meet Dodger.
He is our mustang. And verrrrry talkative. Frankly, he would just assume be returned to roam the range as hang out with people and he doesn’t have much use for other domestic horses, either. He seems to think he is in a class all his own (and the other horses treat him like he is right). He doesn’t prefer life inside a fence line–except for one thing–the abundance of food to which he has access compared to what was offered him 20 years ago in the Nevada desert when he was wild!
Dodger is always preparing for the famine–or so it seems. He inhales anything that is edible, and many things that we thought weren’t edible! He is an “easy keeper,” which simply means that he gains weight on air. 🙂 (I wonder if *I* am an “easy keeper!” LOL!)
But being round doesn’t stop him from always wanting food and hollering for it incessantly.
For instance, if my husband or I should happen to open a window in the midnight hour because it has finally gotten cool enough outside (the horse pasture is down the hill), Dodger shrieks his shrill whinny through the night. Some may have problems with barking dogs in the wee hours. Well, it is our horse hollering that may get us in trouble.
Why does he do this? Any sign of life at any time of the day OR night, and Dodger feels the need to communicate: “Me! Me! Feed me! Have you forgotten me?“
Go figure! I DO feed him what he needs. Actually, probably more than he needs judging from his rolly polly physique. 😀 I never forget him. He is precious to me. I will always be faithful to bring him his next meal or be sure I arrange someone who will. He needn’t be anxious about that. The provision is there!
Nevertheless, he continues to communicate any hour of the day or night, “I am here! I need FOOD!”
Dodger reminds me of me. Like my round friend, I won’t be starving any time soon. In fact, I have plenty of “meat on my bones” as my mustang does on his. There is no famine coming any time soon. Just as thoughts of food seem to distract my mustang from anything else (like staying still during monthly hoof trimming), making him ancy and eager, I, too, have thoughts of food on my mind constantly! Or just about!
In my case, it isn’t about the way I was raised–unlike Dodger, I have never had to scavenge the desert dust to ferret out the nutrition I need to stay alive! I am surrounded with abundance! The reason I think about food so much is because I have developed the habit of looking to food to satisfy some other need or hunger in my life.
If I hollered every time I thought of food, I wonder if my family and friends would ever have any peace! Actually, I know the answer to that one. They wouldn’t! God is definitely working on me in this–and there has been progress, certainly! Thankfully!
So, as evening falls, I open the back door and the greeting of my equine friend reverberates through the forest as if to sound the dinner bell, I am reminded of this passage in Psalms:
and you give them their food at the proper time.
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
Our Great GOD is the provider of the food I need, but I love that He also satisfies my desires. I need to turn to Him!
How about you? Are you like Dodger, always anticipating the next meal before the food in front of you is gone? Are you looking to food to satisfy a need or desire that the Lord wants to meet for you? He promises that he will give you food at the proper time and satisfy your desires, too. Let’s look to Him today for this!
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If you want to read or see more about Dodger and what a special pony he is, please visit this YouTube video. It presents the partnership he has had with Daniel, my autism spectrum son. For more pictures of Dodger (who was featured in Chicken Soup for the Horse Lover’s Soul Volume 2) go to this link. You can read a shortened version of the Chicken Soup story at the Bureau of Land Management website here.