Horse Training

This may be a stretch, but I think I can pull it off, so stick with me. 

A couple of weeks ago I took my daughter to her horseback riding lesson. While I watched, the activity in the pen to the side of me got my attention. A young horse was being trained and the process intrigued me. The trainer would use a whip to get the horse trotting in a circle around the pen periodically popping the horse to get it to follow the trainer's instructions. After a minute or so, the trainer would stop and drop the whip on the ground. At this point, the horse would stop trotting and square-off with the trainer turning his body in direct line with the trainer, eye to eye. The trainer would change her posture from standing tall staring down the horse, to dropping to one knee and holding out her hand. After a minute or two the horse would move toward the trainer and drop its head at which time the trainer would pet and reassure the horse. This cycle continued for an hour. Each time the period got shorter from when the whip was dropped to when the horse approached the trainer.

This got me thinking about my book, For The Honor Of The Vow. In a sense, the same process is taking place. In the pre-breakpoint portion of the book, you are being whipped, so-to-speak, to break your spirit and your pride, so that you will be able to follow the guidance given regarding repairing your marriage. The quicker you learn and understand that the whip is not meant to beat you up, but rather to build you up, the quicker you will be reassured and on your way to restoring your marriage.