Real love is scary to many of us. God’s love is furious and wild. It blows in like the wildfires of California or Colorado where even the tiniest little spark will blow into an inferno in an instant, changing ALL of the landscape. Real love, true love, alters everything in its path. And best (and scariest) of all, it is something you have absolutely no control over. Love that gives us a sense of control is co-dependency. No matter which end of the co-dependent relationship you are on, whether it is the one taking advantage or the one being taken advantage of, both feel a false sense of control/security. The one being taken advantage of feels a false sense of security, and the one taking advantage feels the obvious control.

It is so interesting how this plays out with horses. Horses are excellent at creating boundaries. They know when to move in and they know when to separate. Horses, however, never create co-dependent relationships. They don’t take advantage of each other, they don’t use each other. Horses reflect health in a relationship and they can also provide feedback to people who struggle with co-dependency.

The root of co-dependency is not knowing who you are in Jesus and not trusting Him for your needs/future/everything. The more we live as the beloved, the less likely we are to move towards co-dependency.