Life on the Ranch Cricket

 

Life on the Ranch

Cricket

April 15, 2020

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1: 2-4

I remember like it was yesterday… in 1970, a pickup truck with stock racks rambled across the cattle guard onto the ranch. Hank Patachini backed up to the loading chute and let go into the corral a wild, yearling filly. The $25.00 that was paid for the horse was supposed to be used for a new battery for the jeep. My dad jokingly decided to call this new horse “Battery”. My mom however, won out and named her Cricket.

I had such a love hate relationship with this horse. She was hard to catch. I don’t blame her because one day we discovered she had run through the barb wired fence and was cut up badly. Having to administer antibiotics and salve daily, she came to associate us with pain. She kicked my brother Steve. I can still see the bruise she left on him in my mind. And…she was just plain naughty… You never knew when she would start crow hopping. I spent a lot of time at my Uncle Bob’s ranch with Cricket. She had a habit of lying down in water when she was hot…whether she had a rider on her or not. I will never forget when my cousin Joan came stomping into the house, demanding that he take his shotgun and shoot Cricket because she did just that! She was soaking wet from head to toe! Truth be told I was a little scared to ride her. That is why I sometimes traded horses with Joan’s sister, Barbara. She was a much better and braver rider than I was. She could make Cricket mind.

Looking back however, all the times I did ride Cricket made me into a much better horsewoman. I always rode without a saddle. I was thrilled when I got a bareback pad that had a handle on it. Cricket didn’t exactly have a great mane. It was thin and wispy and hard to get a hold of! Riding this way taught me balance and strengthened my core muscles! I also learned the feel of the horse…being one with her as I used my legs to cue her to let her know what I wanted her to do.

Later in life, I often rode with a friend who made scenes from The Man from Snowy River look like a quiet trail ride compared to the riding we did! The Black Hills of South Dakota can be steep and treacherous. I remember sometimes just closing my eyes and waiting for Jesus to appear because I knew I was going to die! I did however, live through it without injury and credit all the hours of riding Cricket that gave me the knowhow to come away in one piece.

God sometimes uses a “Cricket” in our lives to strengthen us for something down the road. At the time we are experiencing it, we may not like it and we may be afraid of it. But if we persevere, right when we need strength, God will use our “Cricket” to help us overcome the obstacle before us. In my Bible, I have a note in the margin next to the verse I shared. It says, with an arrow pointing to “Consider it pure joy”, KNOWING THAT GOD IS IN CONROL. Substitute that phrase and reread the verse. When we are blinded by our own fear or doubt or when we are faced with adversary, know that the Lord is in control and has you in the palm of his hand.

Cricket lived to be in her mid-20’s. She was retired to a peaceful pasture at my Uncle Lee and Aunt Betty’s ranch.