Capable

One of our girls in Communities has been with us for eight months after spending years in foster care. This year, she is starting her senior year in high school and recently gave her life to Jesus. She is beginning to see Hope for her future.

She wants to change the story for her family, but sometimes she struggles to believe she is capable.

Doing Hard Things

This summer, along with other kids in Communities, she signed up to be a part of P21. Like many of the kids participating, she had never ridden a horse before. She spent weeks practicing and improving her skills, so being asked to join the Rodeo was an exciting moment for her.

What she didn’t realize was that when it came to competing in the obstacle course, she had the wildest horse in the arena. No matter what she did or how she tried to command the horse, the horse refused to cooperate. It was as if the horse was saying, I ain’t doing it.

The horse wanted the path of least resistance — much like she had learned to do in her own life, avoiding difficult things rather than seeing them through.

Autumn, the Girls’ Ranch Cattle Team Lead, had been teaching her for weeks that the Rodeo wasn’t just about winning — it was about hard work and finishing something you started, even when it’s challenging.

In the arena, every time the horse missed a barrier, she had to turn him around and try again or be disqualified. With hundreds of people watching, we thought she might feel embarrassed and quit, especially because she had walked away when things got hard many times before.

Instead, she kept going as the crowd cheered her on. Her foster parents and the other kids sitting on the rails cheered for her, too. Brodie and the announcer trotted beside her, encouraging her to finish.

She completed the course, and when she got off the horse, she was beaming.

“I’m so proud of myself. I didn’t quit! I finished, and I made the horse do what it was supposed to do. I’m really proud of myself!”

A Family Behind Her

That is part of what we hope our kids learn as they grow: We won’t do the hard things for you, but we won’t leave you to face those things alone. We’re right behind you.

She is learning to stand on her own while knowing she has a family behind her. Even when the challenge was hard and the pressure was on, she persevered and proved to herself that she was capable. And she made that decision herself. She chose to finish.

Help children in foster care discover what they’re capable of by becoming a foster parent or providing respite care.

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