Not Too Small
By: Susan Deborah Schiller
In the series, "The Daily Practicing of Seeing"
What does a little horse think about as he awaits his turn in the auction corral? I know he's not human, but horses do think… He stands next to bigger, stronger work horses. It's an auction where horses are bought to work on ranches. They must pull their weight.
Will he be worth it? Will the new master or mistress be kind? Will he be loved as an extension of the family or simply used to make food for the master's family?
I wonder how much I have thoughts like this… comparing my achievements, my productivity, my skills to others. I feel small sometimes, and slow, too. Can I keep up with the "bigs"?
I look in his eyes and I see me. And I believe we are both saying, "We're not too big, we're not too small. There's work to do for both big and small and none are more important than the others."
These enormous draft horses literally FLEW into the auction yard! Tossing their heads with loud whinnies they pulled their master's wagon with JOY and SPIRIT! The ground quaked beneath our feet as these behemoths made a dramatic entrance.
I stood in awe and wonder at these proud horses. Big isn't better. Strong isn't about size. It's their SPIRIT! I felt their spirit; they were simply full of passion, delight, and joy!
Just a few feet away from the massive draft horses were the miniatures… the ponies who faithfully convey their small charges to and from school. They live for the commute, quietly munching grass while their master's children attend classes. These ponies, too, are joyful and are active and healthy into old age.
Do you feel small? Invisible? Too far behind? Too broken, too this or too that?
You're right where you need to be. You're not too small.
You're not too big. You're not too much.
You are needed. You are wanted.
You're just right!
My Full Story What I Believe Contact Me
With all my love,
Sue
Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate to freedom and fullness.
Today Susan helps people write their life stories, unearthing the treasures of their past and sowing them into their future, creating new family legacies.
Copyright © 2010 to 2015 Team Family Online, All rights reserved. For reprint permission or for any private or commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Cute picture of the four kids and the pony. They look no older than 7 or 8.
It’s fun to watch the children handling horses expertly, even the toddlers take off on their own! In some ways they enjoy a freedom that most children can’t imagine, even though it seems that have so much less than mainstream kids.
Those are beautiful horse pictures and a very thought provoking post. :
Thanks for your kind words, Amanda 🙂
Lovely write up 🙂 and the photos are so pretty 🙂 I love the way you write
Thanks so much, Nandini 🙂