Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: The Family Pet (05/15/08)
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TITLE: Midnight - God's Servant | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Boback
05/16/08 -
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Before too long, they decided I should have my own horse. I was a little intimidated at the thought of horseback riding. My grandfather assured me that he had found a gentle animal for me. Midnight’s owners had a toddler. He was running through the horse’s legs. I was amazed. Midnight never so much as flinched, which told me she was definitely my horse. If she would allow a toddler to do this, she was certainly gentle enough for me.
Midnight was all black, with a lone white star in the middle of her forehead. It was no mistake that she carried the same name as the darkest hour of the day. For it was in the darkest hour of my life that Midnight became more than a mere horse.
Midnight and I became fast friends. Grandpa taught me to saddle and bridle her, and I would ride for hours on my friend’s back. I would dismount on occasion, allowing Midnight time to graze in the tall grass. She would let me stroke her face, and at times she would rest her head against my breast as I cried. I knew she was comforting me the only way she knew how.
I would pour my heart out to her in the fields, sharing my deepest, darkest secrets. I knew there was no human being I could trust to talk to about my abusive parents. It was too great a risk, and I would not take that chance.
Summer came to an end. It was time to return home. As the day drew closer and I knew I was going back into the suffering I was being raised in, I became more and more despondent. Finally, I made an important decision that would allow me to stay in the fields with Midnight forever.
I wrote a note and carefully tucked it into the back pocket of my jeans. I waited until my grandparents were both outside.
Grandma took medication to control her seizures. I went to the medicine cabinet and took two bottles of her pills, putting one bottle in each of my shirt pockets.
By now, I was enjoying the freedom of riding Midnight bareback. I used a halter with reigns, but refused to put a bit in her mouth any longer. She didn’t need that kind of control. She was my friend, and seemed to understand my every word. I mounted her and took off for the fields.
I rode far into the fields. Shaking, I started to weep violently. I buried my face into Midnight’s thick mane. Looking heavenward, I shouted, “God, if You are really there, and if You really love me, then do something to stop this.”
Midnight stopped walking. The air became still. She picked up her ears, as if listening to another voice that only she could hear. She began running faster and faster. There was no bit in her mouth to control her, no saddle to cling to. This usually gentle giant threw me off her back. As she did, the bottles of pills were jarred loose from my shirt pockets, and the pills spilled to the ground. Midnight began walking in circles, stomping them into the ground. The pills were crushed to powder.
She came over to where I had landed. She nudged me until I stood up. She rested her head against my chest. I stroked her face and thanked her for saving my life. I pulled the note from my pocket and ripped it to shreds.
Midnight took her head from my grasp, and looked toward the sky. I knew she was thanking God for His message that saved the life of her best friend. This simple horse today was an obedient servant of the Most High God.
I went home, with a newfound faith that God was real, and that He loved me. If the Lord of the universe could speak to a horse on my behalf, how important was I to His Kingdom? One day I would find that answer. My pain would be gone, and His purpose for my life would be fulfilled.
Until then, I would thank Him for His servant horse who saved me from the darkness of my midnight hour.
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Small suggestion: try to avoid "to be" verbs, and go for more active words. Instead of "I would ride", try "I rode".
Lovely story, well written.