We have been able to provide therapeutic riding free to the community since 1977! To me, that is quite a miracle! People often ask me, “Why do you provide the program Free?” For most families, a child with a disability is a long term situation. The costs of special care,joy equipment, physicians, surgeries, and therapy are extremely expensive. Our program is a gift from Jesus to each family, to help them in their quest to find the highest level of ability , mobility, freedom, and joy possible for their child and family. Somehow, God impressed me from the beginning that he wanted the program to be free, and He wanted me to trust Him to provide the finances. Now, if that sounds a little odd to you, it was a whole new way of thinking for me!

Here’s how it happened. In 1976, at age 28, I had just left my tenure teaching at Rose State College in radiologic technology. I intended to move to Denver and marry, but I soon moved back to Oklahoma instead. (Dumb move huh?) Now my life was in a real mess! Filled with anger, disappointment, and confusion because of all my mistakes in life, I thought of giving up on life itself. Somehow, instead I really called out – to a God that I didn’t know – for help! I told Him I was done with life (but too scared to die) and there were a few good miles left on this body. So I said He could just have a good time and live His life through me. I didn’t check the small print, and He quickly took my backward offer and moved into my life. Without fully realizing it, I had invited Him into my life and given Him full control of the future. Things began to move quickly and change in and around me. The future direction of my life was entirely changed by that decision. Though I had attended church all my life, I was totally clueless about God. I thought Jesus was a good example – dead and gone. I never knew that He was alive and wanted to be involved in every detail of my life! I had no clue that He had a specific plan for my life. I didn’t know that He could lead, guide or direct you; or that you could know him- not just facts about Him. I had never heard the words “Born Again.” I never knew He had already paid the price for all my shortcomings (sins) on the cross. No one ever told me that I could accept that payment as a gift, that I didn’t have to try to earn my way to heaven by “being good enough.” I didn’t know that all I had to do was just ask Jesus to come into my life. Well, I had a lot to learn, and He is a fast teacher with a real sense of humor! Without my teaching position, God saw the opportunity to make His move. My mother had wanted to do therapeutic riding for years, but was too busy. She now shared her dream with me. So I thought, maybe, I should just start it for her (while I looked for another teaching position), and this was over 34 years ago today. God moved with lightening speed, and suddenly we had a fulltime program with 50 students. (see “One Woman’s Dream” for details). Somehow, from the beginning, God impressed me to offer the program “free,” not to fundraise or ask for money, but instead to trust Him and talk to Him about every situation, and He would provide. Now, for me, (used to making things happen) that was a tall order! He just wanted me to tell Him everything we needed and ask Him for direction on all decisions. I soon learned that faith is not a feeling, but a choice to trust God and not the circumstances that faced me. Through the years we have had so many fun miracles of provision and timely gifts of funds exactly when the need was the greatest. When we are invited to, we send a grant to an organization or foundation for equipment items. Now when we built the indoor facility, I thought of course God would need my help with such a large project – so I wrote matching grants – but never accumulated enough funds. God let me try that for 3 years, then He did it His way instead, with three separate and interesting miracles. Could all the circumstances that have made our program possible for over a quarter century just be coincidences? No way guys, not day after day, and year after year. But, as we have shared Jesus’ faithfulness to meet our every need; we find that others have been encouraged to trust Him for things in their life. They find out about a God who loves them, knows them personally, and wants to make a difference in their life…if they will just invite Him into their circumstances and heart, and trust Him to work out the details. As I have come to know Jesus through the years, just by talking to Him about everything and asking Him about each area of life, I have found Him to be faithful, caring and consistent. If you have a need in your life, I encourage you to share it with Jesus!