There are some photos that truly are worth a thousand words.

This is one of them.

Horton is huge.

A World Champion. Nearly 18 hands tall. Powerful, muscular, commanding in every sense of the word. He lives at the stables where Lucy takes her riding lessons, and when you stand next to him, you feel his presence immediately. For reference, the world’s tallest horse was a Shire gelding named Samson (also known as Mammoth), who stood at 21.25 hands tall—meaning Horton isn’t all that much shorter than the largest horse recorded in history.

And yet…

As big and mighty as Horton is, he is all heart.

This past week, as Lucy was undressing her horse after her lesson, Horton was being led out of his stall and prepared for his time in the training ring. The moment Lucy and Horton locked eyes, everything else seemed to fall away—and I’m telling you, literal magic happened.

When Horton looked at Lucy, he didn’t see a small child. He didn’t notice her size or her age, and he certainly didn’t see his own power reflected back at him. Instead, he looked straight into her soul and met her there—in that quiet, sacred heart space where words aren’t needed and love speaks for itself.

And what I love just as much is that Lucy did the very same thing.

She didn’t see a massive, intimidating animal.

She didn’t see a world champion.

She didn’t see strength that should overwhelm her.

She saw the biggest heart she’s ever encountered—and all she wanted to do was hug it.

Every time I look at this photo, my eyes well up. My heart can barely handle the tenderness of the moment. Two beings—so vastly different in size, strength, and stature—meeting one another without fear, without judgment, without labels. Just presence. Just trust. Just love.

And I think that’s why this moment reaches me so deeply.

I pray we could all learn to see one another the way Lucy and Horton see each other.

Not for what we’re wearing.

Not for how we look.

Not for how “cool” we are.

Not for our titles, awards, accomplishments, or achievements.

But to look straight past all of that… and see directly into the heart.

The more I sit with this image, the more I realize it reflects something even deeper. It mirrors the way God sees us.

We’re often told that God looks at the heart—that He sees past our exterior and into who we truly are. To hear that truth is one thing. But to see it lived out before my eyes is something else entirely.

Watching Lucy and Horton connect the way they did—so innocently, so purely, so genuinely—felt like witnessing that truth in real time. It brought me immense comfort and joy to realize that this is how God looks at us too. Not through the lens of performance or perfection, but through love that sees, knows, and cherishes the heart.

Two innocent souls.

One breathtaking moment.

And a reminder of how we were always meant to see one another.

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”