Run for the Roses
Few animals on earth are as extraordinary or beautiful as the horse. Few of mankind’s animal companions have proven as constant or significant.
Horses have been used for transportation, agriculture, hunting, herding, exploration, warfare, entertainment, sport, police work, and most recently therapy [1]. Apart from service, they have provided milk, meat, hide, hair, bone, and pharmaceuticals.
When a human being runs, his rib cage expands and contracts. When a horse runs, his ribs are locked in position [2]. He must breathe out as his front legs strike the ground. He can only breathe in while he is up in the air. The faster he runs, the less time the horse has to breathe.
This arrangement would cause suffocation in a human being.
But the horse’s metabolism is designed to generate energy without oxygen, when needed. Rather than being painful, the byproducts of such metabolism actually have euphoric properties. So the horse loves to run.
For Christians, the hand of the Creator is obvious in all this. The real question is whether we can run our race as faithfully as the horse has run his.
“…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12: 1-2).
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[1] Wikipedia, “Horse”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse.
[2] PBS, Nature, Season 37, Episode 8, “Equus – ‘Story of the Horse’/Episode 1: Origins”, https://www.pbs.org/video/equus-story-of-the-horse-episode-1-origins-bp00yv/.
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A Lawyer's Prayers 
Sometimes, Anna, I can’t help but wonder if we too should be experiencing this same euphoria you spoke of as we run our own race.
Unfortunately,the joy in the journey is all too often missing, having been taken from us by the cares and problems of this life.
Be that as it may, everything this side of Heaven is temporal,as this life is compared to a vapor in that it does not last very long.
Jesus,our perfect example, looked beyond the horror of the cross,His eyes fixed firmly on what awaited him after His resurrection.
We should follow his example and fix our eyes on the prize, knowing that at the end of our race there awaits for us joy like we’ve never known here on earth.
You put it very well, Ron. Perhaps there are a few saints who do experience that euphoria. St. Teresa of Avila comes to mind. However long or difficult the journey, we will meet the Lord in heaven. We have His assurance.
Well said, Ron. That’s what I call “divine perspective.” 😉
Anna, what a beautiful picture of the joy we should have in running the race. That euphoria IS wonderful when it’s there to motivate us. But equally wonderful is the fact that the Lord has given us the power to choose to obey Him, whether we feel like it or not.
The “best kept secret” is how often such deliberate obedience RESULTS in the joy we crave.
Either way, we love and obey Him because of who He is, not for pleasure in the here and now.
I like your closing challenge to run the race as faithfully as the horse. I will remember this when I see horses. (In Kentucky that happens often. 🙂 )
Thank you for sharing your insights, Ann.
Hello Anna, beautiful photography of such beautiful animals. I love horses and greatly admire their nobleness and I did not know the fact about their breathing and that running causes a euphoric effect. This is certainly the hand of God, for me there is no doubt. Lovely post! Here in Spain we love horses and we have such extraordinary breeds, especially in the south, in Andalucia. I love seeing the shows they put on when they do the April Fair in Sevilla…
My greetings and all the best and may you enjoy a lovely Sunday,
Francisco
Thank you so much, Francisco. I am familiar w/ the beautiful Andalusian horses by way of the Lipizzaner stallions of Vienna’s Spanish Riding School which descended from them. In my neck of the woods, we have the Chincoteague ponies which are believed to have arrived when a Spanish galleon sank offshore.
Blessings,
A. ❤
My pleasure Anna and thank you, many blessings to you as well.
Reblogged this on My Journey of Faith: "Jesus Makes God Real to Me" and commented:
let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12: 1-2).
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