He Came Looking for Me

By Lynn Baber –

What do the story of an unwanted horse and the promise of a mansion in heaven have in common?

Like a modern Black Beauty, a very real horse named Shiner tells his side of the story of his journey from death to life. Author Lynn Baber shares the human side of Shiner’s story and uses it as evidence for the truth of John 14:2, the promise of a mansion in heaven.

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In the fall of 2009, my husband and I were compelled to find the last two foals from our Appaloosa breeding program. Their father, Sky, had passed through his own narrow gate to heaven in July 2008.

We hadn’t seen these two horses in the nine years since they were sold. Yet these were the ones we knew we had to find. Our search was not for just any of Sky’s foals. Our search was specific, by name. Our search was for Adios Cielo (Ace) and Signed By Sky (Shiner).

He Came Looking for Me isn’t just the story of saving two horses in need of rescue. It is the story of promise and victory by relationship with Jesus Christ for each and every one of His chosen—all who have their name written in the Book of Life and engraved on a mansion door in eternity.

We Once Were Lost

“There is a fly crawling up the inside of my left hock. For a split second I consider stomping my foot to see if it will fly away before deciding that it’s really not worth the effort. My eyes are half-closed against the merciless sun of a late-Texas summer. The skin in the corners of my eyes is cracked from sunburn, something I really suffer from. Residue of dried tears from dust and sun collect in the cracks, increasing the discomfort caused by the sunburn.

I no longer notice the noise made by the fast boxes that speed to and fro on the crest of the hills that form the western boundary of the hilly, dry pasture where I live. In the darkness, the din of those big, stinky cars fades as their white and red lights flash first one way and then the other.

The first few nights after I got here, I tried to escape from the noise and lights that never seemed to end. But no matter how hard I tried, there was no place to go that the noise couldn’t follow. Eventually I learned to just ignore the constant race along the top of the hills.

It is the second hot time since I came to this pasture with my brother, Ace. When we arrived there was already a small herd here. Occasionally a horse will disappear through the pasture gate, never to return. Sometimes a new one joins us here in the pasture, but we take little notice once they give up trying to escape the noisy boxes and surrender to reality in this place.

Today, Ace is somewhere down in the lowest part of the pasture trying to find a little relief from the hot Texas sun. I left the small grouping of trees to see if there might be a blade of grass somewhere that had been missed by the other horses. This pasture is large, but it’s mostly dust and a few of those tall, hard weeds that are too bitter to chew.

Ace and I spent most of our lives, from one hot time to the next, very near our home pasture. Then, more than two hot seasons ago, we were brought here.

Ace gets scared sometimes, and mad sometimes, when the people try to ride him. I am just confused, and I get nervous when they try and take me away from Ace. The people don’t seem to understand that I’m not trying to do wrong; I just need my brother. He’s all I have left.

So here we are in this hot time. Neither of us is too concerned about looking for grass; we’ve pretty much given up on that.

Today it is oppressively hot. My tail has gotten so bare there is no hair left to fight the flies. My coat is dried and hard where I sweated under the things they put on my back and around my belly. My feet are cracked and I am sunburned. I am sore here and there from bites and kicks where one of the other horses ran me off from the water. The skin on my tender nose is dry and peeling from sunburn, and my eyes hurt. It’s just another day of the hot time.

Perhaps if I can sleep I will dream of our home pasture.”

Just in Time

When we most need to be found, God is always faithful to do so. It is comforting to know that He cares for horses even as He does each tiny sparrow.

The events of the past three days had led us on a precise path to this moment. Baber and I walked through the gate to the dry, hilly pasture and started the long walk toward the closest horse.

Jesus has prepared homes for His redeemed in heaven. On each doorpost is an engraved nameplate with one name. There are a finite number of celestial mansions that sit empty, awaiting the homecoming of those for whom they are reserved.

The time is at hand. The Good Shepherd is busy rounding up His flock. He is searching among city crowds, rural homesteads and wilderness expanses to find the specific individuals He seeks. Jesus has a list. The list was given Him by His Father. He will lose none that are on it.

That same list was at the foot of the cross, each name miraculously appearing, one by one, as the lifeblood of Jesus pooled in the sand at the foot of Calvary’s tree. When the final name on the roll appeared, Jesus said, “It is finished.”

There is no spiritual round-up intended to secure a particular number of souls for transport to heaven. There will be a limited number, and each in that number has a unique name and spirit. No substitutions will be allowed. If we were to make that journey by bus, each and every seat would have a name on it, and no other will be allowed to sit in your seat.

Ace and Shiner could not choose to come home. Their lives depended upon the people who cared, or did not care, for them. But, God had a plan. They would not be forgotten. They would be found and brought home just as you will.

Why were they chosen? They were chosen for you. If we had not been sent to bring home Ace and Shiner, there would be no book. If there were no book, you would not have this opportunity to believe that you will be redeemed—just when you are most in need.

No matter how dire your circumstances today, even if you are sored up, burnt out, and believe yourselves to be abandoned on a wasteland, the Redeemer is working in the background, and you, too, will come home.

He promised.

Lynn Baber is a Christian writer who shares simple messages of faith over fear by reducing complex issues into simple either/or choices. Lessons learned throughout her forty year career as a business consultant, motivational speaker, and World and National Champion horse breeder, trainer, and judge, are shared in print, in person, and in the round pen working with troubled horses. Read more on her blog, Simple truth – Simple Faith: http://lynnbaber.net/. Follow her ministry message on Amazing Grays Ministry: http://amazinggraysministry.com/. Lynn is the author of Amazing Grays, Amazing Grace and He Came Looking for Me.