why it’s time we all got a lot more [good] stubborn

So I first met her passing in a hallway and she exuded something really special, unforgettable. And I think it’s because the longer you get to know her, you realize the wisdom of the woman comes from the fact Rachel Anne Ridge has lived a story — She knows what it is be at the end of her rope. The economy had crashed, taking her formerly thriving business along with it. She had been a successful artist, doing work she loved, but now she felt like a failure. How would her family pay their bills? What would the future hold? If only God would somehow let them know that everything was going to be all right…and then, this donkey, Flash,  showed up. You’ve got hear Rachel tell it: It’s a grace to welcome my brilliant friend, Rachel, to the farm’s front porch today…

 

guest post by Rachel Anne Ridge

Stubborn.

That’s what people say.

“You got one of those stubborn donkeys?” and they laugh, as if they know a thing or two about the gentle creatures that seem to invite ridicule.

Oh, I get it: The long ears. The oversized head. The odd markings. The scrubby mane.

The body made for service, not show.

That absurd bray. Hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw! 

And of course, that obstinate streak. Everyone knows donkeys are stubborn, right?

Haven’t we all watched the movies that depict them in some cartoonish refusal to cooperate?

I thought I knew plenty about donkeys…until one showed up on my doorstep looking for a home.

We took in this wounded and frightened animal…”just for the night,” we said, “until we can find his owners.”

And when no owners could be found, Flash, as he came to be called, became part of our family and turned my “understanding” upside down. Right from the start, he taught me some valuable lessons about passing judgments before I know the full story.

And stubborn? Yes, this donkey has taught me a a few things about that. But not in the way that I expected. Flash, with his soft brown eyes, fuzzy ears, and strong opinions, showed me that there are two kinds of stubborn:

1. The kind of stubborn that won’t do anything until it decides to. 

2. The kind of stubborn that won’t quit once it’s decided.

And you know what? It didn’t take me long to figure out that I could use more of both.

I need the first kind of stubborn that says, “I’m not doing something just because the crowd tells me to.”

I’m not going to go along with the way things have always been, just because that’s the way it’s always been. 

I’m not going to jump on any wagon that’s going the wrong way.

I’m not going to waste time my being angry.

I’m not going anywhere until I know Jesus has gone first.

I’m not taking a step until I’ve decided to take a step — because Jesus makes a way for me to take that brave, bold, out-of-the-box step. 

That’s not a bad kind of stubborn to have. That right there takes some backbone.

Then there’s the other kind of stubborn. The kind that doesn’t give up.

The kind of stubborn that looks fear in the eye and says, “I can take you — I am not afraid of you, Fear.”

The kind of stubborn that eats hardship for breakfast — and keeps on going.

The kind of stubborn doesn’t shrink from hard work or inconveniences.

The kind of stubborn that hopes for the best, reaches for the highest, and still believes in happy endings.

The kind of stubborn that loves hard, and deep, and …. well–no matter what.

The kind of stubborn that just gets it done.

When you have a donkey in your pasture, believe me…you get to see what stubborn looks like. But it’s nothing like the caricature that others have projected upon him.

You see, over the years I’ve learned that people often ridicule what they don’t understand.

They’ll call something “stubborn” when what they’re really seeing is strength and courage and determination.

They’ll make a joke about a love that doesn’t quit, and scoff at a mercy that won’t stop.

They don’t realize that stubborn takes heart, and roll-up-your-sleeves bravery.

They don’t quite know what to do with that. And maybe it’s easy for some to discount something so absurd, something designed for service, and not for show.

But really, it’s all okay.

Because Flash, and you and I? We’ve got hopeful grit in our souls.

Our minds are made up to never give up on what’s important.

We’ve deep-down decided that we’ll just keep going for all the love, and faith, and happy endings in the world.

No matter what.

Hey. You want to call it stubborn?

No problem — we’ll take it.

 

Rachel Anne Ridge is an artist, writer and owner of a stray donkey named Flash. Together with her husband, she bootstrapped her way through the Great Recession, raised three kids and rediscovered God in the midst of the everyday juggle of life. Her blog helps women around the world find beauty and faith in the unexpected, and often unappreciated, moments life brings. Rachel’s book, Flash, The Homeless Donkey Who Taught Me About Life, Faith, and Second Chances, reveals how God uses ordinary, sometimes humorous, means to help us see Him.

Named a “Top Ten Summer Read” by Publishers Weekly, highly recommending this compelling read, Flash, The Homeless Donkey Who Taught Me About Life, Faith, and Second Chances.