Spending time with horses has taught me about overcoming fear, trusting others, and building relationships. But one of the greatest takeaways from spending time at the barn is an expression my instructor uses frequently: Where you look is where you’ll go.
In the horse world (and driving world, I’ve learned), this literally means that where your eyes are, that’s where you’ll end up. Horses can sense what you’re focused on and how you’re feeling, which is partially why this happens. But the main reason is that when we are focused on something, the rest of our body follows suite to get us there. We often don’t notice these subtle changes, like turning our hands or shifting our weight to one side. But our horses notice, and eventually if we’re focused on the wrong thing, we’ll notice too.
Part of my job with working with riders is taking the beginner riders on the longe line, which is this long rope that goes from the horse’s head to me. If the horse is too close to me, then he won’t go, but if he’s too far away, then I am no longer in control. This can be an issue since kids on the longe line are practicing riding without reins to get muscle control and build their core, as well as their courage. They rely on me to keep them safe, yet they have to do their part too by keeping their horse at the right distance away.
Occasionally, (okay, often), a young rider gets distracted by the other, more advanced riders out in the arena. They are looking at them instead of looking ahead in the direction they need to go. That allows the horse to take the opportunity to go where he isn’t supposed to, often ending up in a frustrating situation for all of us.
If you’re not a horse-person and you’ve stuck with me this far, great job! I promise this leads somewhere. You see, I’ve come to learn that “where you look is where you go” applies to life too. I mean, sometimes we wish this literally was the case, since then we wouldn’t have to walk anywhere, we could just appear there. But when it comes to goals, if we get distracted, we will never get to where we want to go.
More importantly, when we don’t focus on Jesus, our lives go off-course. I’ve talked about focusing on Jesus countless times, because that’s the only way to have a fulfilling life. When Jesus gets taken out of the picture, the reason behind our existence disappears too.
My friend and I were discussing the meaning of life a couple months ago. (A light topic, I know) When I really get into a conversation, I say whatever comes to me without thinking through it, which can sometimes be a good thing, actually. I told her that if we didn’t have a purpose in life (aka living for Jesus, fulfilling His will) then we wouldn’t want to life. She gave me a startled look and clarified, “So if I didn’t know my purpose, I would just want to die?”
I thought for a moment. Was that really what I meant?
Maybe it actually was.
You see, whether you realize it or not, we spend our entire lives searching for our purpose. When we finally figure things out, we realize that “knowing our purpose” isn’t having some step-by-step formula of how we want life to go. It doesn’t have to be knowing our career path or who we’ll end up with. It just means realizing our purpose is found in relationship with Jesus. Apart from that, we live empty, shallow lives.
So if you’re freaking out because you don’t have answers, don’t be scared. No one has all the answers. We may never have all the answers on this side of Heaven. But as long as you are relentlessly pursuing Jesus, you will find your purpose, I can promise you that.
You are here for a reason. You are loved.
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Colossians 3:2-4
The Will to Wake Up 