Before we moved into our home in Vergas, while I was still living in Frazee at my brother, Jesse’s, I had been spending time outside and happened across some fireflies. I hadn’t seen any of the little glow bugs in a really long time; in fact, I couldn’t really recall seeing them in years past. I was so in awe that I couldn’t get them off my mind for days. Once I started in my pursuit to come up with a name for the ranch, I encountered fireflies again. This time, I was on a walk with my best friend, Alyssa. We happened to be out on a walk, and at the very end of our walk we came across a small field next to Eagle Lake that was completely lit up by hundreds, maybe thousands, of fireflies. It was such an insane, jaw dropping moment. It was so magical. I don’t think I had ever seen so many of them at one time. Every time I think about it I feel a little closer to God; you can’t help but wonder at his glory. At the time, I had just gotten back from my trip to the information clinic at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Bend, Oregon, and I was anxious to begin my own youth ministry ranch. But, the first step in obtaining the non-profit status for the ranch is to create a name. So, as we were walking, Alyssa and I were visiting about my experiences at CPYR and my urgency to find a meaningful, perfect, name. After seeing all of the fireflies that night, I began to consider “firefly” as being part of the name for the ranch, but I didn’t know how it would fit or be meaningful. I began praying that God would show me the perfect name. As I was still praying that God would reveal to me a great name- and considering how “firefly” could maybe be a part of that name- I had my third encounter with the rare lightning bugs. It was a night shortly after we had moved into our new home in the country. I believe that it was my boyfriend (Alex), my mom, dad, Uncle Daniel, and I. We were sitting around a campfire in the backyard and talking about our future plans and the need for me to find a name for the ministry. While we were talking about this, I had my first firefly encounter at the new place. It was just one, I believe, and it was flying around in the horse pasture. But, it made me really start thinking that God was putting these fireflies in my path for a reason. After that night, I felt strongly that “firefly” had to be in the name of the ranch. My real confirmation of using “firefly” in the name, came when Alyssa sent me a screenshot of one website’s opinion of what the symbolism of fireflies is. It said; “This is a symbolic message to us humans that although our physical appearance may seem one way- it is our internal makings- what is inside us (such as our spirit) that makes us shine from the inside out. That which is within us will always illuminate us and those around us.” I shared this information with my new friend Gina, the founder of White Horse Ranch- a similar ministry. She loved hearing of the signs I was getting and the symbolism of fireflies. She said, “they’re the light in the darkness.” We both got goosebumps, or “holy bumps”, at the same time. After that day, I really began exploring name possibilities for the ranch that incorporated firefly in it, but nothing was seeming to roll off the tongue in the way I was hoping. I can’t tell the story of how I came up with the name of the ranch without telling a little background story of the first “official” rescue horse of the ranch. On July 18th, I took in my first rescue horse that is intended to be used as a lesson horse for our program. We brought “Charlie” home and absolutely fell in love with him. During the first weeks of having him at our place, he would nicker and run up to the gate every time he saw me. When I was in his presence, he would rest his head against me, stand still, not eat, and just wait to be loved. The day after I brought him home, I’d been having kind of a trying night. I was just so upset, and emotionally drained. So I thought, “what better to do than spend some time with my new horse?” When I approached the roundpen that he was currently staying in, he whinnied and ran up to the gate. I stood outside his pen, in the dark, while he pressed up against it so that we were touching at all times. I probably spent at least 20 minutes just holding his face. I cried a couple of times, and each time I kind of felt him rub his lips on my face or my hands. During the time that I was spending with him, I began thinking about a new name for the former “Charlie.” Although I liked his name, I already had a golden retriever named Charlie, and thought it might be confusing to have two animals with the same name. I’d also been told by the owner of the rescue ranch that I had adopted him from, that he didn’t seem to like his name. She thought that maybe he associated it with his former owner that had not treated him well at all. I took that to be my confirmation that I should, indeed, change it. So, while I was still holding his head in my arms, I began praying. I prayed that God would heal him and calm him from being so anxious when I leave, and that He would just give me a sign for what his new name should be. I wasn’t expecting anything to happen right away; I have never really been a person who was confident in her abilities to “hear God” or receive “signs from God”. I wasn’t even sure if I knew what that really looked like. But this was unmistakable. I am sure that everybody’s experiences with God is unique, but I truly felt like he had given me my sign. Less than five minutes after I said my prayer, I saw one single firefly light up over the dead-center of his corral. I saw it for a moment, and then it disappeared. Just one firefly. I knew in that instant that his name would be Firefly, or “Fly” for short; and that he would be a walking, breathing testimony as the first rescue horse intended to be used in the ministry. His full name is Firefly Ray, his middle name being named after my Grandpa Raymond who I shared birthdays with on July 20th. The next day, my birthday, I awoke feeling rejuvenated and hopeful. I felt a sort of energy that’d been hard for me to find for a long time. I knew it was going to be a good day, and not just because it was my day of birth. And then, it was. As I was taking a shower, preparing to go have lunch with my good friend, Anita from Healing Hearts Horse Ranch, the name that I had struggled so hard to find for weeks, just came to me- Firefly Fields Youth Ranch. I loved it! I hadn’t even really been giving it a lot of thought at the time either, it was just like God had wanted to surprise me with the ultimate birthday gift- no effort on my part, no stressing to dive deep into my brain for creative ideas. To add to it, the idea for the brand design came to me right then. And let me tell you, I am not a person to make quick decisions on things like this without completely second-guessing myself for extended periods of time. But, I knew that it had to be two F’s back to back- to stand for Firefly Fields. I also liked that the look of them resembled angel wings. Later, I decided to add an extension to the center of the F’s, to make it appear as though the two F’s were formed from the center of cross- putting God at the center of our ranch. While Anita and I had lunch, we chatted about all of the exciting new events and things that were happening to us and for our ministries. I was so excited to share with Anita my story of God sending me the perfect name, and we gushed over every detail. I am so blessed to have someone in my life who completely supports and understands my passion, as it is hers as well. Anita told me during lunch that maybe we could even come up with a verse for the ranch that day to top it all off. I surprised her with having a list of verses and ideas that Alyssa had sent me earlier that day that I hadn’t even had the chance yet to read. We read all of the verses that Alyssa sent me, and we knew without a doubt which one it had to be. Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. This verse is so perfect for us because it includes the idea of the symbolism of fireflies- letting your light shine to others and focusing on what’s inside. It also includes the idea that Gina came up with, that fireflies are the light in the darkness and comparing that to how the Lord is referenced as the light in the darkness in the Bible. And it tells us to live as children of light- the focus of the ranch, children being our target audience. All of these little gifts that God and others were giving me on my birthday were, and are, truly remarkable. I thank God for sending me Firefly, for the many encounters I had with the lightning bugs and signs he sent me, for the wisdom to identify those signs and credit them to Him, for sending me the verse that perfectly reflects the concept behind the ranch through Alyssa, and for sending me Anita, Gina, and Alyssa to share ideas with, get new ideas from, and get loving advice and support from. It was truly so much more than “just picking a name.”
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