For the Love of.....Animals?!?!?!

Recently, "we" acquired a horse. Well, my daughter and husband got the horse. I have been roped into helping occasionally (ex. picking up 50# bags of sweet feed grain). I had made it quite clear to both of them that I wanted little if nothing to do with the horse, clean up, etc. This is mainly my own selfishness. We already have too many cats. Did we really need one more thing to take care of and further drain our dwindling financial resources? Did we really need one more BIG thing that would dwindle financial stuff even further?

Now that the horse is a done deal and grazing happily in the back yard, I have had to reluctantly rethink a few of my previous thoughts.  I have noticed a change not only in her, but in others that have come to visit. There is something very relaxing about petting animals. If they are fed and watered, animals are usually pretty content.

And our daughter, who sometimes has a very hard time dealing with life, is learning some great skills and opening up more. She has been learning more responsibility....with less complaining/whining. She has talked to others about her horse that she probably would not have spoken to otherwise or very little if she did talk. She gets outside and moving around. She has a new buddy that listens unconditionally when she's had one of her bad days.

She is like a butterfly emerging from the cocoon of teenager. It is exciting to watch.

Will my love of animals ever be as strong as our daughter's? More than likely not. Is the additional expense worth it? How do you put a price on something priceless like a smile and increased self confidence?

Genesis 1:24 (NIV) And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.