Brushing out our mess
My sweet horse, Millie May, helped remind me of something that God has been doing in my life. As I was up in the barn brushing her long, shaggy, winter coat, I witnessed the physical act of seeing the dirt be brushed clean. In the stall that we were in and the time of day, the sun was perfectly shining through behind her, casting a dark shadow behind me, but also creating a wonderful view of the dust particles floating through the air above us. I would take my curry comb, which is a more firm bristled brush, and softly run it down her back and watch each little dirt particle be lifted from her dark hair and float into the sunny air around us.
Now, I’m one of the lucky ones who has had the great privilege of brushing horses my whole life. I honestly believe, wholeheartedly, that brushing a horse, or really just being around a horse, can fix any one of your life problems. See, let me show you. Having a bad day? Go brush a horse. Having a sad day? Go brush a horse. Having a happy day? Go brush a horse. Having an overwhelming day? Go brush a horse. Having a grumpy day? Go brush a horse. I could go on, but I think you feel me here. What I’m saying is, I believe I have been fortunate enough to find the cure for life’s challenges! I have used this trick too many times to count in my own life. But, you want to know something? Until this very day, I have never once thought that brushing a horse is similar to how God heals us and makes us clean. Bare with me here, I realize to some of you that may be a very large leap and I don’t want to lose you. This is what I learned today with my quiet time with God as I was brushing my sweet horse.
So, it’s been super cold, wet, and frozen here in Colorado so far, and the ground is soupy and messy. Well, Miss Millie adores her mid-morning nap time in the sun; so, to say she was dirty, was an understatement. She was completely covered on her entire right side in wet, sticky, gross, sandy-mud. After seeing her all dirty, my thought was how do I help clean her up? Right, that makes sense? To me, being covered in mud didn’t seem very fun, although I know she loved her nap time. So I grabbed the brush and started brushing her down. Well, something to know about Millie is she is terrified of being shocked. Like when you have static electricity build up on your hand and then accidentally touch her. Yah, she freaks out. Rightfully so, I don’t like it much either, but she’s huge, so her freak outs are a bigger deal. I noticed that brushing her has started to cause her to become a bit nervous, so I started brushing where she would allow me to. I went soft and gentle and showed her it was okay. Even though she may have been nervous she still allowed me to help clean her off. Then as she became more confident that it was okay and it didn’t hurt, she allowed me to work my way up her body. Each brush stroke stirring up more dirt and more mess and then allowing it to be brushed away. Slowly but surely her messy, dirty, and gross hair on her side began to shine again. It was no longer stuck down to her sides and itchy and uncomfortable. It had been addressed and cleaned and been made new again.
I took a step back to see my progress and liked what I saw. I was starting to recognize her again. Who she was created to be was starting to come back out again. But, I noticed it was only the big areas of her that she had let me do; like her back, bottom, and belly. She still had dirt caked on each leg, up her neck, the side of her face and ears though. I gently stroked her neck and encouraged the dirt to let go and fall away. Slowly, but surely her neck was also clean again. Then I decided to try her legs because her face has always been her biggest fear, so I wanted to continue gathering her trust before attempting that. As I bent down and very gently began to remove each bit of dirt that was on each individual hair covering her leg, I realized the extent that I was willing to go to, to help her get rid of her of her mess and be clean and made new again. I was practically sitting on the ground with my head almost touching her leg with one hand on her leg and the other on the brush stroking each hair. It dawned on me that it’s like what God says about us. How he knows each of the hairs on our heads and how each of us is so insanely important to him that he is willing to do literally anything to help us get rid of our mess and our dirt in our life.
Although that was where this original thought came from, I kept brushing. Letting that thought soak in for a little bit, I finished each of her legs and again stood back and examined my work. She no longer had brown legs from the dirt, but they were back to the original white that she was created with. I stood there for a minute and after she put her head on my head, I felt like she was willing to allow me to brush her face. Allowing me to brush her face was like allowing me into her deepest and darkest place. I wasn’t going to go there without being invited in, because I don’t want to do more damage and add to her fear of having her face accidentally shocked by my finger. I only wanted to do it if she allowed me to and invited me into it, that way we could work through it together. It took her building that trust with me while I brushed her whole body and showing her that I wasn’t hurting her that she began to trust me with her biggest fear.
You see, what I realized in that moment, is that is exactly what God does with each of us. He does exactly what I was doing with Millie, he starts where we let Him in. Then He slowly and gently works His way deeper into our hearts and souls and helps us heal from the inside out. He helps us find our confidence in Him as He helps us heal from the small things in our lives. Then He gradually works His way into the deeper parts of you as you allow Him in. Each time He takes a step back with His work in you and is overjoyed with where you are at and how you have healed. Then, only when you are ready and invite Him in, does He begin to work on those deep, dark, scary places of our inner self. Those places too hard to deal with or talk about or even think about. He doesn’t push, He just simply works where you allow Him to. He helps stir up that dirt that is caked on you and that mess that is inside of you and helps clean you from the inside out and make you like new again. He helps you see yourself again for who you are and what He created you for. He diligently clears away each particle of dust in our hearts and souls and makes us clean, so we can be all that He created us to be. That way we can go and help everyone else see who He has created them to be as well. He truly knows every hair on your head, and He knows your deepest fears, your hardest hurts, and your scariest moments. He doesn’t run away from them, He simply waits for YOU to invite Him, in. He is always right there with you through it all just waiting and ready to help you be made clean! Let’s invite Him in today and see what He can do by brushing out our mess.
With love,
Kaley
Check out this video that is about brushing out your mess from Kaley’s YouTube channel.
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