Run with the Horses

(Never Crawl with the Turtles)

by Kevin W. Rose Illustrations by Kristina Johnstone

Run with the Horses Copyright 2006 by Kevin W. Rose All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by Canadian copyright law. Illustrations by Kristina Johnstone

Published by Kevin W. Rose

13035 122 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5L 0G1

Digitally printed in Canada by PageMaster Publication Services Inc. www.pagemaster.ca

The capacity to care is the thing that gives life its deepest meaning and significance
Pablo Casals

The priority is love If you neglect love, you abandon abundant life Everything must give way to love

Dedication
Dave + Brenda Roever (Vietnam Veteran) You have shown so many others how to Run with the Horses.

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine De Saint Expury

YOU R

JOURNEY HAS BEGUN

Contents
One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Painting.......................................................................................1 Love Key to Freedom.............................................................. 15 Expensive Love ...........................................................................37 Thrive on Change........................................................................ 51 Ask...........................................................................................67 Connecting................................................................................ 85 Flowers.....................................................................................101 Perfect ..................................................................................... 113 Acknowledgement ......................................................................134

One

Painting
There is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge is love, the only survival the only meaning.
Thornton Wilder

 Painting

he art gallery was the most massive ornate building in the town. It was here the young man went to take art classes. He had an idea for a painting, a painting to pay tribute to his grandmother. The art instructor quickly noticed this tall young man would need a lot of coaching. He had little natural talent for painting, he was actually terrible. He would not tell the instructor the meaning or title of his painting. She would understand when it was completed he would say. The painting progressed slowly; with a lot of help by the instructor (I emphasize a lot of help). She eventually recognized the scene. It was a painting of Ruth (from the Bible) gleaning a field. But Ruth did not have blonde hair or blue eyes, the instructor said. Ahh-but you do, he said. She knew they would become friends, this man was so different, he was easy to talk to, and he listened when she talked. She liked that. They talked freely and truthfully about everything. It was a beautiful thing. He always seemed to be able to read her mind, to understand her feelings. If he felt something was wrong he would ask her, she felt good, warm, when she was with him. She trusted him. He always was so interested in her; he always complimented her about her flaxen hair and blue eyes. She asked him a lot of questions, even the difficult questions. She knew that when you ask good questions you get good answers. When she felt a little scared to ask a question she knew that was the indication to ask it for sure. In a true friendship one should never be afraid of asking anything. To love

Run with the Horses

is to trust. When you have trust, the trust takes you straight to the love. Without trust you do not have a relationship. You trust the character and integrity of the other to understand. Both were good at being truthful in giving answers, even if the truth was humbling. Nothing seemed to get old, everything they did, the conversations, activities, walks, dinners, visiting friends, always seemed fresh vibrant and new. He always desired to find and understand the deepest needs of her heart. One evening at a concert the worship song, Breathe, was being played. She knew this was his favorite song. Her heart was racing, she wanted to do it, and she bravely did! She gently slipped her hand into his and held tightly. He put both of his hands over her hand. This was a breathless event and both hoped it would be the beginning of many breathless days together. The first of a million kisses. They both willingly allowed themselves to be drawn into the spiritual and mysterious world of love. He now only used her real name in certain situations, most of the time he called her Blondie. She liked that. We have now entered the dangerous time. You cannot genuinely love me unless you know what hurts me, she would say to him. This dangerous time is the time when those in a close relationship willingly make themselves vulnerable to each other. Each holds and trusts the others heart. These hearts are made of glass; love can be strong, but at times love can be very fragile, especially romantic love. This dangerous time would last until both completely and profoundly know each other. The dangerous time would only end when both truly comprehend the precious value of their love, when nothing will be able to quench the flames in the relationship. They knew God desires the love between a man and a woman to last for eternity and this is what they both desired. Until that time two glass hearts are balanced precariously above a ceramic tile floor. If a heart falls

 Painting

there will be nothing to catch it, no rescuer to redeem the love. Once a heart is shattered in a million pieces it will never be put back together, never. The love will be lost forever. Love has the power to transform hearts and to shatter hearts. They held hands and prayed that neither of them would ever allow selfishness, anger, bitterness, or any other negative relationship killers to harm their love. That they would understand the awesome value of what they have together, never letting go of the others heart allowing it to fall. That their relationship must be defined by love, not just any love, but unlimited unconditional love. Their friendship must become a love they cannot live without. He then understood that this woman was very skilled in understanding relationships. He liked that.
Love has the power to transform hearts and shatter hearts

He told her about his idea for an incredible painting and she
loved the idea. They decided to do this painting together. This painting would reveal the first tests in their idyllic relationship. Remember, he was not skilled at all in painting so she was always redoing a lot of his work. He became a little distant; his hazel eyes did not shine as brightly when they were together painting. Some of her heart needs were now not being met by him. The relationship was still positive and life giving, but he was moving away and both did not like this. He used her real name most of the time now instead of Blondie. Both agreed always to tell each other the truth no matter how hard or awful the truth might be. They agreed that without transparency, without truthfulness in everything they would not have a great relationship. She knew he was breaking their deal. She also knew that he knew

Run with the Horses

deep down he was breaking their deal also. Sometimes in a relationship both know something is wrong but both cannot just come out and say it, both are fearful. Fearful when there is no need to fear. Fear always, always ends up being an illusion. She came up with a plan to triumph over this dreadful situation. She would do it the very next day. The masks would have to be taken off! True love never just gives up. She was so excited and energized by what she would do! He would not even expect this! She would make her very presence a gift; change an ordinary moment into a special moment. When conflict or relational distance arises she was clever enough to understand the most powerful and effective response is to respond in love. They are best friends and best friends deal with difficult issues using kindness and compassion. Her actions would show that she cares for him, respects and values him. The main factor is to protect and enhance the relationship by using love to solve the problem. Solving this conflict would be turned into an incredible opportunity to improve their relationship. The next day while doing the painting she played music. After thirty minutes of songs Breathe came on. She made sure she was very close to him when Breathe would come on. She gently put her hand in his hand and waited. With tears in his eyes he took her hand in both his hands and apologized for being so distant and selfish. He explained that he thought about doing this painting for a long time. He was annoyed she would always redo a lot of his work. He came to the point where he wanted to do the painting by himself. She understood, and they talked for hours each revealing how distressing it was for them the last three weeks when they accepted to hide things from each other. No one else was in the ornate art gallery when they finished late in the evening. She would now be called Blondie again, and she really liked that! As she was locking the doors he said that he

 Painting

wants to tell her more about why this painting means so much to him. That he desires to tell her how he became the man that he is, the man that she loves. He walked her home, they held hands tightly, and he said, She is the best! She liked that.
You cannot genuinely love me unless you know what hurts me

The next day a parcel was delivered special delivery to her door.
With a curious and surprised heart she opened it. Inside the parcel were two beautifully carved wooden horses! The note said, Blondie, I want to see your prized blue eyes for dinner this evening and I will tell you about the horses. They had just been through their first relational trial the other day. She was determined to never place herself in that situation again with him. She wanted to do something special for him too and she knew exactly what to do. Her favorite color is terra cotta, his favorite color is white. She does not like wearing white colored clothes that much but she would buy a new white cotton blouse. He always said she would look pretty in a blue jean skirt; she would buy one of these also for the dinner. She would do this specially for him, her beloved. He was speechless when he saw her that evening. His heart felt like it would explode with joy! This was so special as she did this for him only, she remembered what he likes! He placed his finger on her shoulder then quickly took it away, Ouch, you are sooo hot! he said. She laughed at this and really liked that! No mention was made of the horses until late in the dinner. The horses would be symbolic of their relationship. These two horses would represent closeness, intimacy, and their feelings. She would keep the horses at her place for now in her

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