The Bible, The Barn & The Horses

Let me tell you I am the proud new owner of two thoroughbred horses without telling you I have never done this before…just keep reading.  

It was just one of those days that you have to laugh at, cry a little, and thank God for his grace and perhaps humor. I returned home from a short overnight trip to the lake to discover my younger (aka toddler) mare had wreaked havoc in my barn and the older mare would follow.  I found them standing in a drunken stupor over the bag of food they had engulfed in my absence and as a result of my ignorance. Nearly 50 pounds of grain had been demolished in those hours I was gone - a feast that could have easily turned fatal.  I turned to my more knowledgeable horse lovers for advice and quickly found myself getting way closer to my horses than I ever anticipated that evening.  The emergency vet met me at my house where she and I proceeded to place NG tubes (roughly 6 feet long for horses) down their noses and into the stomach where the vet would administer charcoal.  She then had to give an IV anti-inflammatory/anti-toxin to mitigate the effects of their party with hopes to ward off colic and laminitis.  I knew enough to know this would be bad.  

After I had time to absorb the events of the evening, I sat there in the barn and reflected on how we really aren’t much different from my horses.  

 When Appetite Takes Over

My horses (Scarlett and Waimea) weren’t trying to be bad.  They simply followed their appetite, their instincts told them, “This is good, take more.”  But what they couldn’t understand was that too much of a good thing can destroy you. 

Kinda how sin works right?  We rationalize that we need more — more comfort, more affirmation, more control, more of whatever feeds our flesh, until we’re bloated, restless, and hurting.  

“Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.” I Corinthians 6:12.  

The problem isn’t the blessing; it’s our lack of boundaries.  Grain is good —until it’s consumed without restraint.  Ambition, relationships, possessions —all can nourish or destroy, depending on how tightly we hold them.  

Lessons From the Feed Room

That night I beat myself up about the barn door.  Waimea had used her nose to push her way through the slightly open doors.  I usually lock it tight, but that day I let my guard down.  Just one small oversight and the floodgates opened.  

I pondered how sin and spiritual neglect work the same way.  We leave one area of our life unguarded one habit, one compromise, one door cracked open and suddenly we are face-to-face with a mess we never meant to make.  But even in that moment, God’s mercy meets us right there.  

“But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” —Romans 5:20

Grace Isn’t Cheap

When the vet bill came, it stung!! —both financially and emotionally.  But as I paid it, I realized Jesus paid a much bigger price for our mistakes and our sins.  Grace is free to us, but it cost God everything. 

The forgiveness and second chances we live under were purchased at a premium —the life of His Son.  And that kind of grace is priceless.  

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Grace is costly because it cost God the life of His Son; and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.”

The Takeaway

That night, the barn became a classroom for the soul.  The lesson was expensive, but I will carry it with me always:

1. Guard the gates.  Both literal and spiritual ones — small cracks lead to big consequences. 

2. Moderation protects.  Even blessings require boundaries. 

3. Grace restores.  Our messes don’t scare God; they invite his mercy.  

Final Reflection

Though I can’t say I want to relive this experience I will say it wasn’t without value.  Sometimes our greatest lessons come from unexpected places — like a barn full of grain and two guilty thoroughbred mares.  

And yet, even in the aftermath, I was reminded that the same God who created these beautiful, instinct-driven creatures also tends gently to our hearts —teaching, correcting, and redeeming us through every stumble.  

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”—2 Corinthians 12:9