This is Tali.
Her full name is Talitha.
In Mark 5, Jesus heals Jairus’ daughter.
Jairus was a big deal – he was the ruler of the local synagogue.
His daughter was sick, and nothing the family tried for a cure worked. So they came after Jesus.
On His way to Jairus’ house, Jesus stops to speak with a woman who had touched the hem of his robe, and found herself cured from a twelve year “issue of blood” that had left her weak, miserable, and unclean.
In the meantime, Jairus’ daughter, dies.
Those who came to inform Jairus told him to stop bothering the Teacher – after all, what can He do now?
Jesus tells Jairus, “Do not fear…”
He enters the house, takes the little girl by the hand and says to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl arise!”
Talitha – “little girl.”
Tali is just that…she’s a little girl, 14 hands tall, just my size.
I’m not the best rider (Bay calls me “intermediate,” but I know better), and sometimes, Tali can get a little naughty.
When she does, my heart skips a few beats, and Jesus words echo down through the ages, “Do not fear.”
This isn’t a blog about fear, this is a blog about what I learned from Tali this week as I “sat with her…” not in heavenly places, but in a round pen.
This is our round pen:
The back story.
On Saturday, Bay and I took our two Tennessee Walkers up in the national forest behind our house. The last time we rode we’d seen a herd of elk, and listened as the bull bugled to his girls, then watched them skedaddle right out of view. It was breath-taking, and we hoped to repeat the scenario.
From the minute I had stepped into the stirrups, Tali seemed a bit “off.”
I have those days.
She’s never given me any issues (so I wasn’t worried), but during the entire ride, she just wasn’t her usual self.
She drug her feet.
She stumbled.
She lagged behind.
Nothing encouraged her to keep up…
I don’t know what was wrong with her.
Maybe she was PMS.
Maybe she got her feelings hurt, when I climbed up on her back and got this horrible whiff and leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You stink! No, seriously, you smell really bad!”
Maybe our combined biorhythms were just a bit wonky.
Whatever it was…the ride was less than enjoyable, then got worse.
On our return home, Bay decided to see how Tali would respond if he went off in a different direction, out of sight, and I just took her on home.
Oh, brother!
(this is right where Tali prefers to be – me, as well – right behind Bay!)
She was having none of that…and I was determined I would win.
In all our rides, never has she behaved so poorly.
She threw her head.
She cried out.
She went in circles.
She backed up.
She peed.
She balked.
No way, would she move forward, and no way would I let her go the way she wanted to go (which was the way Bay and his Walker had gone).
We were at an impasse.
Finally, Bay came back, wondering what was taking us so long to get down the mountain, at which point she was happy to follow behind him once again.
So, the next day we did a little round-pen-training.
The round pen has lots of good purposes. We put our horses in there when they need some extra TLC; when they need their shoes fitted; when they are sick and the vet needs to make a call; but it is best used for teaching, instructing, and training “in righteousness.”
The round pen is the Master’s best tool for helping the horse submit.
The bottom line – by the time the gentle instruction is over the horse comes quietly to the Master, and leans into him/her, head bowed, submissive and quiet.
After our round-pen-lesson, we went for an almost 2 hour ride, and she was super-horse.
I couldn’t have asked for a better horse.
This is her I’m-sorry-face.
So, here’s a leap…and yes, there is a point.
I got stuck this week on this verse of Scripture found in Psalm 54:4 (BSB):
Surely God is my helper, the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
An aspect of God’s character is His helpfulness.
I understand what that looks like.
The Lord, my Master, wants to help me be the best version of what I can be.
Yet another piece of the character-puzzle of my God is that He “sustains my soul.”
The word in Hebrew is “samak,” Literally it means to be at rest under the care of another…
In order for the Lord to help us, we have to allow Him to be the sustainer of our souls.
There has to be a trust, a surrender, that allows us to be at “rest” under and “lean into” His care.
He is the One and Only to whom we can fully submit, find quiet and peace for our souls.
Sometimes, just sometimes, we might get a little antsy…a little naughty…have an off day…
Sometimes, just maybe, we need a little “seat in a round pen,” doing some training with our Lord, to remind us where we are seated, and with whom we are seated, and which of us is in control.
But, I guarantee, I wasn’t planning to take Tali anywhere that would put her in any danger.
We were headed “home,” for heaven’s sake.
This day, for some reason, Tali simply had a “herd mentality” and wanted to be with her “tribe.”
She wanted that above submission and obedience.
We get that way, as well…
We forget the Lord has our best interests at heart…
We forget whom we are “seated with” and that He is leading us “safely” toward home…
…and I’m thinking the Lord knows when we need to be taken back to the round pen…so He can TRULY be our helper and the sustainer of our souls.
In this case: Take Your Seat (in reverse)!
