Rachel Anne Ridge - Walking with Henry: Big Lessons from a Little Donkey on Faith, Friendship, and Finding Your Path

Walking with Henry is a breath of fresh air. Each page is filled with golden nuggets of wisdom that unexpectedly drop into your hand and heart like little gifts wrapped in packages of well-crafted words. If youve been looking for a read to snuggle up with, cry with, laugh with, and ultimately grow withthis is it. Rachel Anne Ridge writes the way she lives: full of grace, contagious joy, and a wide-open heart. Thats why I know youll enjoy this book as much as I have.

P RISCILLA S HIRER, Bible teacher and author

This tender book will pull you into Rachels and Henrys stories and lift you up to Jesus. I love this book!

S HEILA W ALSH, author of Its Okay Not to Be Okay

Who knew there are so many lessons about faith, grace, and letting go of past regrets that you can learn from a miniature donkey named Henry? Walking with Henry is the beautifully written story of two donkeys who had to find their way and let go of fear as they forged a relationship they werent sure they even wanted. Youll laugh, youll cry, and most of all, youll never forget the impact the humblest of creatures can have on the way you view your faith and your God. Rachel Anne Ridge has written another heartwarming book that will charm you and challenge you in all the best ways.

M ELANIE S HANKLE, New York Times bestselling author and speaker

Personal, reflective, practical, and profound, Walking with Henry shows us how the Lord can provide timely, beautiful wisdom from an unlikely and unexpected teacher. Rachel Annes words are thought provoking and life giving, the very best kind of medicine for a weary soul.

S OPHIE H UDSON, author of Giddy Up, Eunice and cohost of The Big Boo Cast

A five-star read! Rachel is all heart... and wait until you meet Henry. Who will want this book? People who (1) love animals, (2) dream about farm life, (3) want to deepen their prayer lives, (4) have ever felt guilty, and (5) have a pulse!

P ATSY C LAIRMONT, speaker and author of You Are More Than You Know

Im not much of an animal person, which is why I am amazed at Rachels ability to make me love two donkeys. This book is a thoroughly enjoyable reminder to be actively aware of the many ways God seeks to use the normal moments of life to teach us.

E MILY T HOMAS, The Struggle Well Project podcast

When I first read Flash, I fell in love with Rachels world. Never did I think the same magic could happen again! Yet Walking with Henry is filled with wit, grace, and beautiful lessons as we watch Rachel and her donkey friends live the life God has given them.

L ISA W HELCHEL, actress, author, speaker, and life coach

Rachel Anne Ridge has a unique and endearing gift of finding spiritual wisdom in unusual places. A rescued miniature donkey with lots of behavioral baggage arrives during a time of deep personal searching in Rachels life. Her journey with Henry is a sweet and vulnerable story that will make you smile, think deeply, and ultimately worship our Creator God.

D AVE B URCHETT, author of Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace

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Walking with Henry: Big Lessons from a Little Donkey on Faith, Friendship, and Finding Your Path

Copyright 2019 by Rachel Anne Ridge. All rights reserved.

Cover photograph copyright Thomas Ridge. All rights reserved.

Back cover photograph of lavender copyright Marek Walica/Shutterstock. All rights reserved.

All other photographs copyright Thomas and Rachel Anne Ridge. All rights reserved.

Designed by Libby Dykstra

Edited by Bonne Steffen

Published in association with William K. Jensen Literary Agency, 119 Bampton Court, Eugene, OR 97404.

Quotations from The Book of Common Prayer are conformed to The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, Together with The Psalter or Psalms of David, according to the Use of The Episcopal Church, Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, 2007.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation; used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188; all rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked AMPC are taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation; used by permission; www.Lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; used by permission; all rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation; used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version,NIV; copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.; used by permission; all rights reserved worldwide.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ridge, Rachel Anne, author.

Title: Walking with Henry : big lessons from a little donkey on faith, friendship, and finding your path / Rachel Anne Ridge.

Description: Carol Stream, Illinois : Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2019. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018042652| ISBN 9781414397856 (sc) | ISBN 9781496430106 (hardcover)

Subjects: LCSH: AnimalsReligious aspectsChristianity. | Human-animal relationships. | DonkeysMiscellanea. | Henry (Donkey)

Classification: LCC BV4596.A54 R535 2019 | DDC 242dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018042652

Build: 2021-04-21 22:38:06 EPUB 3.0

For Tom,

my companion and the love of my life.

Its okay, little donkey, I murmured, my voice low and reassuring. Its okay.

I stood at the pasture gate, a small blue halter in hand and a braided lead rope looped around my arm. This long-awaited day was finally here, and anticipation fluttered in my chest. The buckles jangled as I pulled off the price tag that still dangled from the nylon nose strap. I knew the halter, made for a pony, wouldnt fit properly on my new miniature donkeya little too snug over the top of his head and too loose across the nosebut it would do for now.

Todays lesson would be short. He needed to get used to me and become familiar with being handled and led. Henry was a rescue animal: a stray with an unknown past who was clearly uncertain about his present. I patted my pocket for the carrots Id brought as a treat, then lifted the heavy chain link off the rusty nail sticking out of the fence post. Oversized ears swung in my direction as he listened to my cautious approach.