“I’d like that,” Tom said, handing Joey’s lead rope to Kim and giving Joey a final scratch between his ears. “He’s all yours.”
A moment of fear gripped Kim. A chant of what-ifs in her mind almost loosened her hand on the rope. As if sensing Kim’s panic, Barb put her arm around her friend. Yes, Kim thought, I can do this.
As they approached the horse trailer, the sound of stomping hooves and a loud, agitated whinny from inside made them abruptly stop. Joey’s ears flew forward as if to say, What’s that?
“That’s Speckles,” Kim offered. “He’s an Appaloosa, too, but a rather unhappy one at the moment, it seems. I’m sure he’ll settle down once we get on our way.” At least I hope so. The truth was that Speckles had been nothing but difficult since she and Barb picked him up. She hoped she wasn’t wrong about that one.
Once Joey was secured in the trailer, while he and Speckles assessed one another, Tom patted Joey’s rump.
“Go do lots of good, Joey.”
Yes, Kim thought as the farm disappeared behind them, Joey has quite a story.
Thankfully, it hadn’t ended too soon.
CHAPTER 2
THREE HOURS LATER, the Tahoe pulling the horse trailer turned onto the gravel road leading into Hope Reins—twenty acres of sprawling oak trees, wide-open pastures, white horse fencing, and meandering woods, nestled off Highway 50 in North Raleigh. Tall pines, standing as sentinels, cast long shadows along the winding drive.
“Welcome home, boys,” Kim said, stealing a glance at their two travel companions in the rearview mirror. “You’re going to love it here.”
Just to the right of the drive was Hope Reins’ largest pasture, where the bigger geldings, Deetz and Cody, were kept. The six-acre pasture contained a run-in shelter, several deep-water troughs, and a wooded area that offered welcome shade. Kim’s favorite feature? A twelve-foot-tall white wooden cross, a visual reminder that Hope Reins was—quite literally—a gift from God.
The idea for Hope Reins had been inspired by the book Hope Rising, Kim Meeder’s story of the organization she started in Oregon that paired emotionally wounded children with rescued horses. Kim read the book twice in one week, fascinated by the concept. Page after page painted pictures of children forming relationships with horses—horses who acted like mirrors for them. Not only would wounded children see parts of their own stories in a wounded horse, but because horses tend to reflect what they are seeing, children learned things about themselves as they cared for their horses.
It was a dynamic Kim understood all too well. While growing up with an emotionally distant, alcoholic father and a mother who enabled his behavior, Kim found the unconditional love she longed for in her beloved Saddlebred horse, Country. Kim’s father continually pushed her into competitions, always wanting her to perform, to stand out—to make himself look good. But all Kim wanted was to hide away with her horse, spending hours riding, brushing, and talking with her equine friend. In an environment that often felt unsafe and uncertain, Country gave Kim the stability and acceptance she craved. Or at least he did until her father sold him when she went away to college.
Many years later, Kim had almost forgotten how much Country had meant to her in those formative years. But recently, when Kim was reeling from the death of her mother, a friend convinced her to begin riding again. She found it healing and therapeutic. The more she rode, the more she wondered if God had a greater purpose in mind for her.
One day at the library, Kim found herself typing the words Jesus and horses into the online catalog. There she found the book by another woman named Kim. God does work in mysterious ways. She soon found that she couldn’t stop thinking about starting a similar program in Raleigh.
Granted, the idea seemed far-fetched. She had only just recently gotten back into riding, and she didn’t have the slightest idea how to run a fully functioning ranch. Not that it mattered. Before you could run a ranch, you had to have a ranch.
“I’m just a stay-at-home mom,” Kim had lamented to her friend Lori one sunny afternoon at Chick-fil-A, as they sat watching their children romp around the large indoor play area. “God wouldn’t really be calling me to do something like this, would he? I mean, I haven’t worked since Chance was born,” she said, smiling at her five-year-old son. He turned at the sound of his name before running to catch up to his almost four-year-old sister, Isabel. “I’m probably just reacting to the book, right?”
Lori had patiently listened as Kim shared about her past, the book, and the crazy dream of creating a place for children and horses to help each other. Finding herself out of words, Kim took a deep breath and waited. She valued Lori’s opinion, as both a friend and a spiritual mentor.
“I think it’s a great idea, Kim,” Lori said.
Kim’s eyes widened.
“I mean, you obviously are passionate about this. You have personal experience with horses, and you have a husband who adores and supports you.” Lori sat back and studied her friend. “Go for it. If it is God’s will, then he will make it happen.”
Is it really that simple? Just trust God and start working toward making the idea a reality? Kim left Chick-fil-A that day both excited and terrified. There was just one last thing to do—make sure her husband, Mike, was on board.
“Are you really serious about this?” Mike asked later that night after the kids were tucked in. “I know you’ve been thinking about it for a while—in fact, you haven’t talked about much else—but are you really sure you know what you’re taking on?”
“I think I am,” Kim replied, looking down at her tightly folded hands. “I mean, it’s been a month, and I still can’t let go of this idea. I’ve prayed about it, we’ve prayed about it, I’ve talked to my sister, to Lori, and to Pastor Scott. And then today my devotional reading included 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: ‘God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.’” Kim turned to face her husband as they sat together on the sofa.
“What if God allowed me to be comforted by Country so that one day I would be able to help other kids be comforted by horses too?”
She drew her legs up underneath her. It was so easy to talk to Mike. It always had been, from the first time they met more than fifteen years ago.
“I even thought of a name for the ranch!” she said, then paused for dramatic effect.
“Well, don’t leave me hanging.”
“Hope Reins. You know, spelled like ‘horse reins,’ but sounding like ‘God reigns.’ What do you think?”
Mike was quiet for a moment. Kim held her breath. His opinion was so important to her. What if he doesn’t like the name?
“I think it’s absolutely perfect, babe. I say . . . let’s do it,” Mike said, his gaze tender.
“Wait! For real? Are you serious?” Kim laughed.
“I’ve never seen you like this before. You’re different. Energized. There’s something going on here. So yeah, let’s see where it goes.”
“But it’s going to be a big change for our family,” Kim pointed out. “I know your new marketing position lets you work from home, but it’s not like you can watch the kids and do your work. And we can’t afford a nanny for Isabel and Chance until they start school! And the up-front costs . . . we don’t have that much in our savings account, and . . . Mike, is this crazy? How are we going to do this?”
Mike took his wife’s hands. “Slow down and take a breath. We obviously have a lot to figure out, but let’s just try to take it one step at a time for now, okay? You want this. You can do this. So we will figure it out.”
He looked her in the eyes. “I believe in you.”
Of course, dreaming about something is one thing. Actually making it happen is something altogether different.
First things first. After doing the math—at least one and a half acres per horse—Kim figured she would need twenty acres for a decent-sized ranch. But finding twenty acres of affordable, usable land in the North Raleigh are
a was easier dreamed than realized.
Over and over, Kim was told, “You’ll never find the land for that” or “That much land will cost you a fortune.”
“If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been told, ‘You’ll never find the land,’ I could purchase half of North Carolina!” Kim confided to Mike after checking out another disappointing lead.
Several weeks later, Kim started second-guessing the idea: Is this really what you want me to do, God? Discouraged and weary, she decided to put things on hold for a few days and take Chance and Isabel to an Easter egg hunt hosted by a local church at their off-site property, only fifteen minutes from her house.
As she and her kids walked to the large crowd gathered near a sprawling oak tree, Kim couldn’t help but take in the entire scene. The colored eggs were scattered in a mowed field, while a handful of horses grazed in adjacent pastures. There appeared to be two access roads, and another overgrown field on the property. What is this place?
“Mama! They’re starting,” Chance shouted, tugging on her hand. “Hurry! The eggs are gonna be all gone.”
“Yes! Let’s go,” she said, grabbing her kids’ small hands and dashing into the frenzy.
After ten minutes of zigzagging around the field to grab plastic eggs, Chance’s and Isabel’s baskets were full.
“Can Isabel and I go play for a while, Mama?” Chance asked, spotting several bounce houses near the parking lot.
“Of course. I’ll stand right here and hold your baskets.” As she watched Chance and Isabel, a man with a pleasant smile approached her and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Will Warren, business administrator at Bay Leaf Baptist Church. I’m so glad you were able to come to our event. I hope your children enjoyed the egg hunt.” After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he turned to greet other visitors but stopped when Kim blurted out, “Does your church own all of this land?”
The man studied Kim’s face for a moment before answering. “We sure do. It was gifted to us about a year ago by one of our longtime members. She didn’t have any relatives and decided to leave her family’s land to us in her will. It’s a beautiful property,” he continued, scanning the area. “But I have to confess, seventy acres is a bit much for us. We really aren’t sure what to do with it, other than host a massive Easter egg hunt every year,” he added with a wink.
Kim’s heart was beating so loudly that she thought the church staff member couldn’t help but hear it. “Yes. It truly is beautiful,” she replied.
As she led her children back to the parking lot, Kim looked more closely at the surroundings. There was no fencing, no plumbing, and too many trees, but somehow she knew. This could work. In her mind’s eye, she could picture a riding arena at the far end of the property and a feed shed by the parking lot. She could easily imagine sectioned-off pastures and hitching posts throughout the landscape. But seventy acres in such a prime location? A quick Google search on her phone revealed the discouraging truth: The estimated value for the land was 7 million dollars! Well, it could have been perfect, Kim thought as she buckled her daughter into her car seat. Yet as the day went on, she just couldn’t shake the feeling that the church property would be a perfect fit. And so, even though she had no reason to think it could work, she decided to reach out to Will Warren at the church. If nothing else, it would be good practice going forward. After getting the kids settled for their rest time, she sat down at her computer and began typing a four-page proposal, outlining her vision for the ministry and a mission statement.
When Mike came in from mowing the lawn, Kim handed him a glass of water and the proposal. “Will you take a look at this?” she asked.
“This is good, Kim,” he said, still scanning the pages. “Really good. But since when do you have a mission statement?”
“Since about ten minutes ago,” she said, laughing.
“Our vision is to provide true hope and real healing for every child,” Mike read out loud. “Our mission will be to provide comfort to hurting children and their families by providing one-on-one sessions between caring leaders and extraordinary ‘equine counselors,’ many of whom will be rescued horses and those who have faced abuse and neglect themselves. All services will be free of charge.”
Kim saw the question in her husband’s eyes even before he said anything. “Have you really thought that last sentence through? I know we discussed it, but how are you going to fulfill your mission if you aren’t bringing in any money?”
Kim had spent many hours thinking about that same point. But she had done enough research and talked to enough social workers and ministry leaders to know that the kids with the greatest needs would likely be the least able to pay. Yes, offering free services meant more work for her—putting together fund-raisers and applying for grants—but she was willing to do everything possible to make it free.
“To be honest, I don’t exactly know how it’s all going to work out, but I am choosing to trust God on this one.”
Kim noticed Mike’s shoulders tensing ever so slightly, and her heart went out to him. I know this seems risky.
“All right then, let’s see what happens.”
Two days later, Kim was sitting next to Will Warren in his church office.
“Thank you so much for meeting with me,” she began, trying to keep her trembling hands out of sight. “I wanted to talk to you about an idea and how your property on Creedmoor Road might fit in. Here’s the proposal for you to review.” As he read, Kim tried to gauge his reaction. Had she been foolish to come here?
The business administrator laid the document down and smiled. “This sounds like quite an undertaking,” he said, rising from his seat and walking toward his desk. “And definitely one we could use around here.” He rustled through several drawers before returning to the chair next to Kim. He unrolled a large sheet of paper on the coffee table. A property map!
“This shows the property lines, easements, and access roads,” Will explained, pointing to different markings. “This area is where we had the egg hunt. Over here is where we keep a house for missionaries on sabbatical. And this section is used once a year for a youth retreat. The rest of the acreage is untouched. It definitely would need to be cleared. And I imagine it would take a lot to get it ready for a herd of horses.”
Kim’s eyes darted back and forth; she had certainly seen similar maps these past months in her quest to find land. She was so absorbed in mentally tracing the property lines that she almost missed Will’s question.
“So would these twenty acres be enough?”
When his question finally connected with her brain, Kim nearly shouted.
“Enough? It would be perfect!”
“Now, the church can’t sell you the land—it’s a condition of the will—but I will propose to our senior pastor and the elders that we lease the property to you. Is that okay with you?”
“Are you serious?” Kim asked, tears of joy pooling in her eyes.
“I am quite serious,” Will assured her. “I’ll run it past the elders tonight at our monthly meeting,” he said. “And they’ll need to agree to the terms.”
Kim caught her breath. The terms. Twenty acres of prime real estate in a quickly growing community could easily lease for ten times what she could afford. Kim smiled politely at Will, thanked him for his time, and said she would look forward to his call.
Oh, well. At least I got to practice my business proposal on someone.
The next afternoon, as Kim was surfing through real estate websites, her cell phone rang.
“Kim, how does a dollar a month sound?” Will Warren asked.
“I’m sorry. A dollar a month for what?”
“For you to lease our land,” Will chuckled. “Twenty acres—a dollar a month. Does that work for you?”
Kim was glad she was sitting down because she suddenly felt light-headed.
“You mean we can use the land for just one dollar a month?”
“Our church believes in what you want to do, Kim, and we would be
honored to support you and Hope Reins.”
Kim found herself at a loss for words. How do you say thank you for such a lavish gift?
Finally, she stammered, “I . . . how can I possibly? I never imagined . . . oh my goodness. Thank you so much!”
“You are most welcome. Now you go find some of those equine counselors you mentioned and get to work helping those kids, okay? When you stop by Bay Leaf to review and sign the document, I’ll introduce you to our senior pastor, Marty Jacumin.”
“Yes, sir,” Kim said, ending the call with a joyful laugh.
“You never cease to amaze me, God,” she prayed, with tears streaming down her cheeks. “You took what everyone said would be the hardest obstacle and crossed it right off the list!”
Suddenly, Kim wasn’t alone. Chance and Isabel had wandered into the back bedroom because they heard her voice. A moment later, Mike appeared, ready to shoo the kids away so Kim could finish the call. But when he saw the tears, he immediately wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m so sorry it didn’t work out,” he said, brushing the hair away from her eyes.
“Didn’t work out?” Kim laughed. “The church is letting us use the land for a dollar a month!”
The look on Mike’s face was priceless.
“God did it! We have a place for Hope Reins.”
Over the next several months, the real work began. First there was a mountain of paperwork to fill out and file in order to become an incorporated 501(c) organization. Then there was insurance to buy, something Kim hadn’t realized would be so costly.
“We are in the same category of risk as those guys who clean the windows on skyscrapers!” Kim lamented to Mike after meeting with an insurance representative. But the insurance needed to be in place even before the improvements on the property began.
The physical changes were extensive—clearing the land and installing fencing. And while the labor was free, courtesy of church friends and willing neighbors, it seemed that every time she turned around, Kim needed to pull out her new credit card reserved solely for Hope Reins–related purchases. The expenses kept coming, and Kim was getting more and more nervous. She fought hard to keep costs down as much as possible, borrowing some equipment like horse trailers and looking for a good bargain tractor on Craigslist.
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