What You Paint Comes to You

About 10 months ago, my beloved horse Beau fell down for the 5th time in just a few months while I was riding him. He is nearly 30 years old and lived a hard life before I got him 10 years ago. I knew that day that I needed to retire him and couldn’t ride him again. I was utterly devastated. It came at a time when my daughter Dafni was moving out and my other daughter Dalia was moving far away to Miami. I felt like I was losing everything all at once. I treasured all the rides I had with my girls and no longer riding Beau felt like I could never have those times again. 

A few months ago I told Beau I was going to get another horse. I would always love him and he had changed my life. He taught me how to overcome fear, control my thoughts, lead with confidence and to honor his heart to serve, in the process. At first Beau was a little hesitant but I felt him give me his blessing and accept his retirement. It was a tearful day when I made the decision for a new horse, but I promised Beau I would take care of him and give him the best life I could. 

Meanwhile Dimitra, was on a similar path as her horse, Carmella, Beau’s best friend, is also around 30 and arthritic. Carmella is a little more inclined towards retirement and was happy to have a buddy with her out in the pasture. Dimitra was set on getting an Icelandic horse, because she rode them while visiting Iceland a few years ago and it forever changed her. She felt they were incredibly mythical and could connect very deeply with their rider. We watched endless videos about the gaits and movements. We dreamed of horse trails and horse camping full of gaiting adventures here in Georgia. We both set out to buy two Icelandic horses.

This rare horse is extremely difficult to find here in the US and if you find one, it is sold before you blink. Dimitra found a trainer in Oregon who had 3 Icelandic, semi-babies who were still in training, and not quite for sale yet. The trainer assured us that they most likely would still be available if we managed to get out there soon.  Within a few weeks we flew to Portland, Oregon to hopefully buy two of the three available horses. Since Dimitra found the horses, she got first choice. Well….. only one of the horses clearly stood out to belong to our family and Dimitra and he fell in love! His name is Halo and he is incredibly handsome, shiny black, with a white snip and glacier blue eyes. He rides like a dream and was begging us to take him with us. He is only 6 years old but ready to be a responsible citizen!

Now that Dimitra bought Halo, I was quietly secretly, devastated. I held onto the belief that God had a horse chosen for me and he would be amazing. Before we even left Oregon, sweet Dimitra, who felt so bad for her horseless mother, found an Icelandic only 1.5 hours from our house in Georgia. He looked perfect!! My hope set on him. His name was Blast and to find an Icelandic for sale so close was unheard of. We had scoured the country and looked at every single Icelandic for sale. Unless we went to Canada there was nothing available. I was sure this horse must be the one. He was being sold in an online auction! Uggh ! No!!! That meant I had to be savvy online and outbid people, when there was so few Icelandics even available. That would mean that everyone who wanted one right now would bid on him. So tough, but I believed if he was truly meant for me, then I would win the bid!

As soon as we were back from Oregon, I went to see this Icelandic, named Blast, right near me. He was wonderful and we seemed to really connect. I was sure he was mine and I would win the bid. Now I just had to wait two weeks until the auction! The day before the auction, I was teaching an abstract workshop and right in the middle Dimitra tells me, 

“One of my followers saw my post about my horse and said she has a ‘unicorn Icelandic” and if I know anyone looking for one!” 

She had me at unicorn!! I had been feeling for some time that I was supposed to paint unicorns. I couldn’t stop the urge. I have painted probably a dozen white horses and half of them unicorns in the last few months. Dimitra showed me pictures of the horse and it was love at first site. I recognized the pictures of this Beautiful white horse and realized I had one of these pictures on my Pinterest board for a source to paint! This horse named Hvellur was semi-famous in Iceland and a high end photographer name Birgit Zimmermann photographed him. It was one of her photos I had collected. As I stared at the the pictures of this horse, every single painting of white horses I have been painting flashed through my mind. I was painting my horse!! 

But what about Blast, down the street? I thought he was mine too! But unicorns had been so impressed upon me and this was a unicorn Icelandic. I talked with the owner and we agreed on a price. She told me that he was very special and spiritual and would probably come to me in a dream. I wasn’t sure what to think about that. I was conflicted about what to do the night before the auction. Should I bid on Blast? Or just trust the process and see if the unicorn was for me? I prayed before bed and asked God to give me a dream about what I should do. This is where the story gets really good!

That very night I dreamt of three horses. The first one was like Beau. I looked at him and thought, “I love him, but I know what he is and he will always be there and be the same”, the second one was like Hvellur and blonde, and we walked together and he asked me what I like to do most. I said, “I want to walk grande halls”, he said, “Oh so you are queen! Then I shall find you grande halls to walk”, WOW!! The third horse was grey and old looking, but with strong legs. I wanted the blonde horse, and didn’t really want the grey horse, but thought, “well at least he has strong legs”. When I woke from the dream I was grateful to God that he made it clear. The unicorn, Hvellur, was mine!!! 

The wait was excruciating. I could hardly stand the daily drama of waiting for my incredible horse. He had to be transported from California. I had more than two weeks to wait and think of his name. I knew I wanted a name of a king. I named my dog Cyrus after a king and especially after my dream, I wanted to name this horse after a king. One night I was talking with my daughter Dalia about the horse and she said why don’t you name him Solomon? I thought about it and realized it is perfect! King Solomon wrote the greatest love poem ever written, ‘Song of Songs”, and this horse for me is God’s greatest love poem from Him to me. He put on my heart to paint Solomon for months. He allowed my heart to pine and really desire. Then he gave me the very horse I had been painting. Beau has been a really good horse and he has changed my life, but King Solomon I believe is a great horse who will define my life. I believe I am stepping into a defining chapter of my destiny that God has written on my scroll, and Solomon will be by my side as I walk the grande halls of what is next. 

What grand halls are you now walking that you once only dreamed of?

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