“You girls be careful and fun!”, yelled Mom as Laura and Heidi headed back through the wheat field to see the horses, Pearl and Space, for the second time today.

“Ooh, do you know what would be fun Heidi?”, Laura said quietly. “Wouldn’t it be fun if we made the horses some halters out of this twine here on the ground?” Heidi thought that maybe that could be fun.

“Sure”, she agreed. It wasn’t long after the girls threw the twine over Pearl’s neck, that they heard a voice shouting to them.

“What are you girls doing?”, a man’s voice asked. Laura recognized that voice. It was the voice of one of her neighbors, the neighbors that are boarding Pearl and Space, for a friend of theirs. Heidi however did not recognize the voice and was startled.

“What were you girls doing?”, came another voice, but this time it was the voice of a woman. It was the neighbor’s wife, whom Laura recognized as well. Laura explained, “We just wanted to make halters for the horses.”

“It looked like to us, that you girls were trying to rope the horses. Those horses are 1,500 pounds. It’s a miracle you weren’t pulled through the fence and hurt real bad”, the woman spoke again. “And what about the bark peeled off of that fruit tree? Were you feeding the horses that? Fruit trees are toxic to horses. That’s why we have it fenced off, away from the horses.” Heidi fell silent, but Laura reassured the woman that Heidi had nothing to do with the bark.

“I peeled some of the bark off yesterday and gave it to Pearl, just a little though. I didn’t know that it was bad for them. I’m sorry.” Heidi spoke up and said, “We are sorry, we did not mean to do anything wrong, we will leave.”

Mom heard an upset voice and looked out the kitchen window. She noticed that the girls were back in the yard, but it looked like something was wrong. The girls took a seat on the grass, under the tree by the garden. Curious, Mom filled her watering can with water and headed to the garden to water some fresh seeds that she had just sewn earlier. She looked at the girls and saw that Heidi was crying.

“Heidi, what is wrong?”, anxiously asked Mom. Heidi didn’t respond, she just cried all the more.

Laura said, “She is afraid that she is going to be in trouble.”

“What on Earth for? What happened?”, asked Mom, now worried herself. Heidi wouldn’t say a word, she just sat there crying.

Laura started to mumble, “Well…” She explained to Mom the situation and what was said. “Heidi”, Mom said gently. “It’s ok. Everything is going to be just fine and you will not be in trouble.”

Then Mom turned to Laura, “Unfortunately, you will be in trouble. You have been asked before to not feed the horses anything but the hay the neighbors put out for you everyday.” Laura looked down and cried. “You see girls, rules are in place for a reason and we must be obedient. We also have to be very careful with God’s creatures. I know neither one of you meant any harm, but the both of you and the horses could have been seriously hurt. I do hope that you both learn something from this lesson and make better choices.” Mom looked at the girls, “I will talk to the neighbors a little while later. Why don’t you girls find something fun to do in the yard?”

Mom went back into the house and told Dad what happened. Mom and Dad looked out the kitchen window at the girls. The girls did not look happy. Their fun summer day was not so fun anymore. Mom told Dad, “I have to go out there and try to say something to them to lift their spirits and help them to have fun again.”

Heidi was on the tree swing and Laura was in the garden, when Mom called them over to where they had their picnic lunch just before all this horse trouble. “I want to talk to you girls a minute. You girls have had such a fun day. Then bad choices were made. But does that mean you can’t enjoy the rest of the time you have together?” Both the girls looked at Mom. “Everyone makes mistakes, but we don’t stop loving them or caring about them. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes and be there for one another.”

Heidi and Laura fidgeted a little. “Do you remember the Bible text, Isaiah 41:10 ‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you…'”?, asked Mom. “If God stands beside us through our mistakes and troubles, shouldn’t we stand beside each other?” Both girls looked a little more relaxed; Heidi still very reserved. “Now, I want to see you girls, two good friends, having fun and enjoying the little bit of time you have left together today.” Mom went back inside and told Dad, “I hope I helped, even a little.”

Laura went over to Heidi, gave her a hug, and apologized for everything. Then the girls played with some small toys that Heidi brought with her. “Mom, come here!”, Khloe excitedly yelled for her Mom. “Look at all these fun toys Heidi brought with her!. Mom peered through the window, then went outside for a closer look. “Well, those are pretty neat. Fun! Now who would like a frozen vegan mango fruit bar?”, smiled Mom.