Within this world there are many different types of beauty. The beauty captured in each sunset, each snowflake, each strand of hair dancing in the breeze, each crooked little grin has its own unique glory. Sometimes, rare beauty finds rare beauty and something remarkable happens. Like random puzzle pieces that might be confusing when viewed individually, on occasion they find each other and suddenly make sense. It is within this special place of fitting together that individual beauties forge into something incredible, something amazing.
It’s hard to believe that it had already been two years since we rescued Mateo, the smallest horse on the ranch. Our tiny dun and white quarter horse/mustang cross stood at only a smidge over 13 hands. Not only does he remain the smallest horse in our care; he is also the most shy. As the sole survivor of a once hellish existence, he came to us with many troubles. The most difficult being a hip that occasionally catches and the worst equine under-bite that I had ever seen. With his head in a downward position, his lower teeth jut nearly an inch beyond his upper teeth. Not a good thing for a creature that needs incisors to line up so they can graze.
Even though his adoption fee was covered by a group of industrious little girls, I still received some lightly veiled criticism as to the logic of spending ranch resources on a defective horse. Nevertheless, I believed that this tiny gelding had value and belonged here at Crystal Peaks for a very specific reason. Whether I fully understood the reason was irrelevant. What was most important—is that I trust a God who is relevant, who is in control and who doesn’t make mistakes . . . ever.
As Jennifer strolled the ranch with me for the first time, I was acutely aware of the shy six year old at her side. Her toe-headed daughter, Gillian, seemed to almost hide under her thatch of long, nearly white hair. Yet, in studying the child, it was not her hair that caught my attention—but her eyes. Her face scarcely seemed large enough to encompass such enormous eyes. Intelligent, clear blue pools rimmed in cobalt, rotated slowly, purposely, giving silent testimony to her true desire—horses.
Hoping her unspoken wish would become the tie that would bind us; I asked her plainly, “Gillian, if you could do anything on the ranch, what would you want to do?” Her gigantic eyes rolled up to look at my face. Without a word, I smiled at Gillian, creating an empty stage for her to fill. After long moments of holding my gaze, she finally spoke in a small, somber voice, “I want to ride a horse.”
Kneeling down to her eye level, I responded in exaggerated enthusiasm, “Really? Well girl, you came to the right place. We can make that happen!” As if my words blew across an ember within her chest, her heart burst into flame. Rapidly glancing between her mothers face and mine, her lips split into a glorious smile . . . a smile that I recognized.
Beaming before me was a radiant, unique smile. Baby lower teeth jutted out before baby upper teeth. Like Mateo, Gillian also had an under-bite.
“Wow! What a beautiful, smile you have! Gillian, did you know that you are the only little girl to come to this ranch with such a special smile? Hmmm, but there’s another special smile on this ranch and I’m pretty sure that he’d like to meet you. Would you like to meet him?” My question was wordlessly answered with an enthusiastic nod of agreement. With her little hand placed firmly in mine, we walked the short distance to the corral where Mateo lives.
To fuel her courage and protect her tiny feet, I hoisted her up on my hip and entered the corral. As we approached Mateo, I explained to my new friend how shy my little horse was and how he had endured a great deal of pain before coming to us. Because of this, he was still learning how to trust people and will often move his head away from being touched on the face.
Moving to the side of Mateo’s cheek, with Gillian in between us, we stopped. I wanted to give Mateo time to see that we were coming to greet him. To my great surprise, he did not step away from her . . . he stepped toward her. As he reached out to her, she reached out to him. Like magnets, shy pulled toward shy. I watched in wonder as tiny fingers stretched toward a tiny forehead. Meeting in the middle, a private miracle sparked into life. Two mirrored halves of a bridge came together. They had found each other.
“Oh my goodness! Mateo is bashful; he’s never done that before. I think he’s choosing you to be his friend . . . you ARE special!” With her hand still gently rubbing his forehead, she looked at me with a reverse-order grin so brilliant that it could have split rock! It was at that moment that I reached down with my free hand and carefully spread his lips apart. With lower teeth firmly in front of his upper teeth, I proclaimed, “Look Gillian, he’s smiling back at you!” Upon seeing his teeth, her mouth and eyes opened wide in pure astonishment, “He DOES smile like me!”
As she continued to stare at his mouth, I added, “No one else on the ranch shares this wonderful uniqueness. Only you and Mateo have this special gift.” While watching Gillian try to grasp such an incredible moment, the bigger picture began to clarify in my mind. Mateo’s funky hip and jaw were not a mistake. He does belong here, if only to reflect the rare beauty of an extraordinary little girl. I could hear the voice of my Lord speak, “She is perfect . . . he is perfect . . . together they shine for Me. It is only when each piece is joined within the masterpiece of My greater purpose . . . they become complete . . . they become truly beautiful.”
After an incredible session with Gillian, I took her upstairs into the barn to a gigantic pile of stuffed toys that a selfless young woman donated. As a keepsake of our time together, I asked my little friend to pick the one that called out to her. After rummaging through a near mountain of plush animals, Gillian finally turned around, clutching a treasure to her little chest. Holding it up for my inspection, I could see that she had chosen a small white horse with butterscotch spots. With a shy turn of her head, she said, “Mateo chose me . . . now I’m choosing him. From now on, we will always be together.”
True to her word, with only one exception, Gillian has ridden Mateo every time she’s come to the ranch. At home, stuffed Mateo sleeps nestled beneath her arm every night. Her mother told me recently how she took Gillian to the dentist. Once boosted up into his chair, her previous self-consciousness had transformed into something else, something new—courage. It was at that moment when pure innocence declared, “It’s okay that I have an under-bite. The horse I ride has an under-bite just like me. He loves me and I love him. It’s really okay that we smile the same. That’s what makes us special. That’s what makes us friends.”
Within this world there are many different types of beauty: a sunset, a snowflake, a smile. Sometimes rare beauty finds rare beauty . . . and something remarkable happens. We might not see it right away, but make no mistake, God DOES! In His eyes we are each unique and special. Yet, it is when we choose to stand in our uniqueness and reflect His glory . . . that we are truly the most beautiful of all.
Written by Kim Meeder
Around the Fire, Fall 2009
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All past CPYR Newsletter articles are posted on our website at www.crystalpeaksyouthranch.org/AboutUs/Newsletter