Gandalf’s Flock
I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. Revelation 6:2 (NIV)
Even as a young child, I loved all the animals we had on the farm. The cows, pigs, and chickens were well cared for and it always broke my heart when they were sacrificed to our freezers. However, that was just part of farm life and I grew to accept it. Today we have two chickens and two cats—not exactly a big farm, but we’re adding more. Maureen Miller (All God’s Creatures) describes her geriatric farm and what she has learned.
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We raise a variety of animals on Selah Farm, including a white Missouri Fox Trotter and a dozen sheep. I imagine the sheep look to the horse much like the hobbits look to Gandalf, the wise wizard in Lord of the Rings. Though our horse’s name is Mick, we affectionately call him Gandalf.
Gandalf’s getting old. Our flock is, too, not to mention the two remaining Nigerian Dwarf goats, Abraham and Issac, who keep to themselves after the passing of sisters Rachel and Leah. (Our goats and sheep don’t get along, much like Tolkien’s dwarves and elves).
We’re caring for mostly geriatric animals. Still, there’s a lot of life in Gandalf, as long as he gets his daily does of glucosamine and his inflammatory tablet, which my daughter kindly tucks in an apple.
Sometimes, when the weather grows cold, she leads her steed into a stall, lays a blanket over his back, and offers him a peppermint, which he doesn’t refuse. In the morning, she opens the barn doors, and he ambles up the pasture to find a dozen friends eating “second breakfast,” another hobbit trait, just over the brink of the hill.
Since our animals resemble characters in a fantasy story, I wonder who I’d be. Unlike Tolkien’s elves, I’m not immortal and am susceptible to old age. But like my animals and the hobbits, I want to enjoy each day, to be thankful for family, friends and food, and my faith. I want to make the most of the life I’ve been given by God.
Old Gandalf just might be around when God’s Son returns. Perhaps the Lamb will point, then proclaim, “Look, a white horse!” After all, the very best story, the second coming of Christ, is no fantasy.
Well, here at last, dear friends… Go in peace! J. R. R. Tolkien
Loving Lord, thank You for all our days on this earth. Teach us to use them wisely; to enjoy what we have, and to give You the praise. For all the life-lessons we learn from our pets, we thank You. AMEN.