Patience

Patience: an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay. (Dictionary.com)

Patience has never been one of my strong points. And that definition certainly does not describe me!
But I do try to be patient and to wait upon the Lord. I am not always successful.
Sometimes life takes us to places that we don't understand or where we don't want to be. We wonder how we got there and why we are in a particular situation.
It could be that the place we are in is a trail to the destination God has in store for us. Or it could be that He is waiting on us to grow or to change or to learn. .
Looking back on the last 2 years of my life I can see the trail that God has led me down. I did not always understand it. I questioned it. I was restless and annoyed. But God was faithful and He always heard my prayer.
For 14 years I have driven a 100 mile round trip to work and back. I spent 2 hours a day driving when I would rather be at home. But the last couple of years it has been so hard. Morning after morning I would get up at 4:30am to get ready for a job that was not what I wanted to do. There were days that I had a bad attitude. There were days that I thought I would not be able to keep doing it. But I did with Gods grace.
My prayers did not fall on deaf ears. God was listening.
And finally I see a new trail I am heading down. This trail runs right in front of my house and it ends 9 miles down the road that I live on. I start my new job tomorrow, July 26th, at Chris Cox Horsemanship. His ranch is 9 miles from my home, well, 9.2 miles to be exact. I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off of my shoulders. I will save about $400 a month on gas and have 2 extra hours at home each day.
I'm not nervous or anxious about starting a new job. It is exactly where I am supposed to be.
So if you are struggling with something in your life, pray and tell God your needs and try to be patient. Don't give up and continue to believe. There is hope.
Psalm 25:5; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

"Always saddle your own horse" - Connie Reeves

Connie Reeves had the same kind of spirit and grit that was found in the pioneering woman that helped settle the Western frontier. She had moxie!

She was the oldest living member of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. At the age of 100, she rode in a parade when the Cowgirl Museum opened its new building.

Connie died in 2003 at the age of 101 after being thrown from her favorite horse, 28 year-old Dr Pepper.

Connie graduated from Texas Women's University and then attended the University of Texas School of Law, (She was one of the first women to study law at the University of Texas) but left school to take a job during the Great Depression because her family needed the money.

She went on to teach at two San Antonio high schools and at one she founded a drill team which is still in existence.

I could go on and on about her accomplishments and awards but the thing that I think was most important was the legacy she left for thousands of young ladies.

Connie was also a riding instructor at Camp Waldemar for Girls since 1936 and taught more than 30,000 girls to ride. But she taught much more than riding to these young ladies, she also taught self-reliance -- and that is why her motto was: "Always
saddle your own horse"
She not only wanted them to literally saddle their own horse but I believe she wanted the girls to be accountable for their own actions and for their own future.

Girls and women in this era have so many opportunities available to them and it is because of pioneering women like Connie and many others that rode down the trail before us.

Connie Reeves was a legendary woman with the
strength and character as big as Texas.

(It is women like Connie that inspired my poem The Cowgirl Way. If you will go to my page on this web site and read my poem, The Cowgirl Way, you will see I used Connie's motto.)