"Pass the Reins"

Flipping through the pages,

Of an old, lost frayed scrapbook,

The photos there were faded,

As I turned each page to look.

Most were not in color,

In fact just black and white,

Tinged a lot with yellow,

And stained sometimes but quite,

Solemn in their beauty,

And what they said back when,

I was just a young boy,

Growing up back then.

I remembered when I saw it,

My Dad was standing there,

In khakis and a cowboy shirt,

Mom took the pic with care.

His hat was tilted on his head,

Young and in his prime,

Much thinner than he later was,

A handsome man and fine.

He stood beside a pony,

A shetland pinto mare,

And on my little saddle,

The childhood me was there.

I wore a little cowboy hat,

I hoped was like my Dad,

I wore some red-topped cowboy boots,

The best ones that I had.

Dad said make the meanest face,

And both of us did try,

To frown at Mom the meanest,

I’m sure it made her sigh.

No smile for that picture,

My hands were on the reins,

Later on they dropped and fell,

I bounced off, no real pains.

But Dad would never let that go,

He made me climb back on,

if you’ve fallen from your horse,

In that saddle you belong.

All of these old memories,

Came flooding through my mind,

As I looked at that picture,

Remembering that time.

And then I heard a whisper,

Deep down in my heart,

Something that I’d heard before,

It still gave me a start.

Look, your hands are on the reins,

You must pass them to Me,

For unless you let them go,

My blessings you can’t see.

And I’m the One to lead you,

So don’t struggle with the rein,

Just hand them both right over,

And I’ll relieve Your pain.

Long ago and far away,

A shot in black and white,

Reminded me to pass the reins,

Surrender to the light.

“…let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives…” (Gal. 5:25, NLT)

If we follow the leadership of the Spirit, life becomes better. If we follow the Spirit’s leadership in every part of our lives, all of life becomes better. The Spirit will bear His fruit in our lives, and fill us with the character of Jesus. He will empower us to die to our own egotistical selves so that the Spirit can live the life of Jesus through us. But this all hinges on our willingness to be led. Are we, or are we insisting on our own plans, desires and agenda. Surrender is a beautiful “passing the rein” to Jesus, and asking Him to take us where He wants us to go. He will if we pass the reins.

Lord, help us pass the reins to You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Steve Boaldin, artofacowboy.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Steve, and God bless you.