Walking in God's Shadow

Deer come to feed at sunset at Changing Gaits Ranch. They too, feel the peace of the Holy Spirit's presence!

As I look out my window, I see nothing but dreary skies. For the first week of June, temperatures are well below normal, sweaters have been pulled out once more and even the wood toads down at my pond have stopped their trilling for awhile. Yet all is still well in my world. I know that tomorrow the sun will come out the skies will be blue and it will be warm once again. 

Such may not be the case for an alcoholic. They have no idea what tomorrow will bring, only that the day will stare at them and they have choices to make. It can make or break their day as well as the lives of everyone they know. Will today be the day they can finally look their addiction in the face and say, "no more!" or will they decide it's too hard, they have already messed up, what's one more day going to hurt?

Thanks to the dedication of one man and one horse in Brook Park, Minnesota, that choice is made just a bit easier. Guy Kaufman runs the Changing Gaits Ranch. There, he and the many horses there work with addicts, using horses to teach them about many things, including unconditional love, showing people that they have it within themselves to turn their lives around! The fact that horses are so much like humans...they know us because they can be just as stubborn as we sometimes can be, means that you can't fool a horse either; it's almost as if they can read our minds. If you try to chase it, it will run the other way. However, if you can get inside their mind, you have just conquered the battle.

Guy Kaufman doesn't let snow and cold get him down! The work must continue!

Alcoholism is not something people aspire to be. You don't just wake up one day and decide to become a drunk. So many alcoholics live with the regret of their decision...or are reminded of it daily by the situations they have created, the people they have offended, the friends they have lost, the DUI's they have racked up... Changing Gaits is one way that dignity can be restored. Guy knows what you are going through, he has walked that road himself, now he is walking in God's shadow...with his horse, named appropriately...Shadow!

If you are interested in what Changing Gaits has to offer, contact the ranch or Guy Kaufman at 320-679-4468 or go to their website at: www.changinggaits.org    

A book has been published also, filled with heartwarming testimonies from the ones who know it best: those who have been through the program! Titled "Walking in God's Shadow," it is available at www.amazon.com (paperback and Kindle version) as well as www.barnesandnoble.com (paperback and NOOK).