Give me a word, Lord: WAITING ON A DEER

Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ, also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Matthew 24:42 Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”

I Corinthians 1:7 So that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today I would like to share an excerpt from my devotional/inspirational book, Inspirations from the Funny Farm. I hope that you find a little enjoyment and see the truth in these words.

People find it funny when I tell them that I love to deer hunt. I don’t know if it’s because I am such a dainty little flower of a woman (not!), or perhaps it is because we have pet deer that I truly love. I, however, do not find anything funny about it. Deer hunting is serious business. We don’t hunt for sport though. If we kill it, we eat it, and eat it we do! I can close my eyes and smell the scent of some fresh backstrap frying up in a pan. Oh mercy! I can hear the sizzle of venison sausage cooking up for breakfast, and let’s not forget the hundreds of dollars we’ve saved eating ground venison instead of ground beef. It’s much leaner, and therefore, much healthier. Venison does a body good for sure, but it is also great for the mind.

My passion for deer hunting has grown strong over the past few years. I’m not a great hunter, but nonetheless, I love to hunt. My husband and I have gone on draw hunts together. I enjoy those hunts because we get to sneak away for a few days just the two of us. We also get to spend those days out enjoying God’s beautiful country. It brings rejuvenation to the body and the mind. I like the draw hunts a lot. I truly do, but if I had my rathers, I would rather hunt out of the old Snaggy Pond hunting house on my husband’s dad’s land. Jeff’s dad, Paw Paw J.B., has 320 acres of farmland and timber. Over the years, Jeff and Paw Paw have built several hunting houses on his land. To me it is better than any state wildlife management area. It is cared for under the watchful eye and steady hand of Paw Paw J. B. He loves that place, and it shows. His land is like a huge wildlife park.

When hunting, I have to arrive early in the afternoon to get up in the stand before the deer start to move. It seems crazy to arrive an hour or two before “deer thirty”, but it is a necessity. I don’t want the deer to see, hear, or smell me as I ascend to the stand. Once I’m there, it’s hurry up and wait, meaning I hurry to get up there and then I wait, and I wait, and I wait. If you aren’t a patient person, this probably isn’t for you. Some days, I sit there for 2 or 3 hours and see nothing. When I say nothing, I mean N-O-T-H-I-N-G! Other days, there is wildlife galore. The afternoon may start off with me watching a flock of turkeys feed. I always enjoy watching them as I take notes as to how many turkeys I saw and how many of them had long beards because Paw Paw is going to need that information. Not only is he an avid deer hunter, he is also an amazing turkey hunter.

I’ve seen quite a variety of birds during my watchful waiting, and I’ve even seen a bobcat once. After the turkeys finally move out, it’s pretty much dead quiet for a while. That’s a great time to just sit still and be quiet with God. I do some of my best thinking during that quiet time, and God and I have some real good conversations from that hunting house. Those conversations are never boring. We’ve solved many a problem out there.

Finally, about 45 minutes before dark, the first doe will gradually sneak out to feed on the fresh green rye grass. It never fails, as soon as I get the first glimpse of movement, my heart skips a beat, and then it begins to race. Once I determine that it is a doe, the rate of my heart gradually returns to normal, and I sit back and enjoy the show. Does begin to come in one or two at a time. Some arrive with a young yearling at the side, and others arrive alone. A lot can be determined from watching the does.  For example, if she is quietly grazing and appears disinterested in her surroundings, there probably isn’t a buck anywhere in the vicinity. However, if she is looking around constantly, ears perked up, and acting nervous, there is probably a big boy nearby. When the does start acting skittish, my heart pumps a little harder and a little faster because I know that excitement is coming soon. I ease up on the edge of my chair, and I even catch myself holding my breath with anticipation. I feel that I just can’t wait even one more minute, but I can, and I do.

As the sun slowly fades away, I quietly beg for that big boy to peak out, even if it’s just for a moment. I can’t tell you how many days darkness has completely overwhelmed me without me seeing even one single buck. But even when I don’t see a big buck, time in that old hunting house is always time well spent and never a disappointment. For you see, even though I didn’t get what I wanted, I still got what I needed: time with God and His glorious creations!

What if we all sat anxiously awaiting the return of Christ with that same bated breath? What if we could hardly catch our breath and our hearts skipped a beat or raced because we caught a glimpse of what is to come? Jesus has promised us that one day He will return. We don’t know the day or even the hour of His return, but we know that He is coming. We should be waiting with great anticipation, awaiting the return of our Lord and Savior. Our hearts should quicken with excitement at the thought of His return, and we should be filled with excitement as we look forward to that glorious day. So many times, we get distracted by the day to day grind, the ordeals of our lives, and we take our eyes off of Jesus. Maybe we should sneak away, to a quiet old deer hunting house, and just sit still and just be quiet, and listen and talk to God a so that we can renew our excitement for Christ and our future as we remember His promises. If we are focused on Christ, truly focused on Christ, we can’t help but get excited because as children of the King, our futures will be bright!

I’m sharing a photo of a deer that I killed a little over a year ago. He was an old deer, 10 to 12 years old, that I shot at 55 yards through thick woods with my crossbow. That was truly God blessing me (yet again) because I’m not that good! I give all glory to God for every good thing in life!