Lessons from the Deer Woods

This year was my first official year to go deer hunting and it was yet another wonderful adventure with my husband. Over the course of three days we spent approximately 15 hours in the deer woods and came back without a deer but a stack of memories(so I guess that's ok). But, I hope next year will be my year. You have to know my husband to fully appreciate some of the stories I will tell you. He loves to hunt and watches many hunting shows trying to perfect his hunting skills. We went hunting the second week of deer season after he had already bagged his 7 point buck. So our first day of hunting rolled around and getting ready even was a fun experience. Hunting clothes are probably one of the funniest parts of hunting for me. My pants had been Mark's so they were slightly too big for me even with several layers underneath them. Then of course I had my camouflage jacket and a rather cute quilted orange vest. Mark likes to be able to disguise himself so much that the deer will think he is in fact a deer down to wearing face-masks and putting on scent to mimic a doe. Once I got all my gear on I was ready to go......but I am almost forgot one of the most important parts of the outfit the camouflage cushion for your bottom. That cushion would become near an dear to my body after hours of sitting waiting for deer to come in. I like to be purposeful in what I do so while I was waiting and listening for deer I was looking for something I could learn from being outside. The Lord was probably bombarded with many requests from me hat day. {Lord, Please help me to get a big deer, please bring the feeling back to my cold fingers, please help my husband to see that no deer are coming so we can go back to the house and eat, Lord help me to be comfortable with a tree limb coming out of the back of my head. Oh and by the way can you help make this a worthwhile experience even if I don't get a deer? Amen} The Lord was gracious enough to answer most of my requests and I learned three lessons from the deer woods.

Lesson Number 1: Listen to the voice of God; learn the difference between His voice and the distractions of the world.
Woods Experience: It was half-way through the second day we had seen two does earlier and I was starting to get tired. Mark and I crested this hill and in the distance I heard what sounded like movement in the leaves. I quietly got a little closer where I could see better, but a tree blocked my view. I waited several minutes for the animal to reveal itself and finally the moment I waited for I saw a brown leg step our from behind the tree and it was the biggest brown....cow I think I've ever seen. To my disappointment the big buck was the neighbor's cow on the other side of the fence. To make things worse it saw us and wouldn't leave us alone. I had several other experiences where it seemed like I heard what could be a deer, but it turned out to be a small fox squirrel or a twig falling from a tree.
Real life Application: The devil likes to distract us with voices of fame, wealth, relationship and sin while trying to pass it off as the voice of God. We must know the voice of God and that comes from having a day-to-day relationship with him.

Lesson Number 2: Walking in darkness can be dangerous and a little frightening, but God has given us His word to light our path and keep us from danger.
Woods Experience: On day three of hunting Mark woke me up at 4:00 a.m. with the idea of getting us into our hunting destination while it was still dark so would be less visible. We may have been less visible, but I am pretty sure we were not less audible. While crossing the field it was so dark that I began to see things that looked like eyes or outlines of bodies. I kept whispering to Mark did you see that? Did you hear that? All the while Mark keeps telling me I'm just seeing things. The darkness also prevents you from seeing the things that really are there like logs and embankments making walking an even more difficult challenge. (The odds were definitely stacked against me with little sleep, baggy pants, and darkness). I was managing along pretty well until we got to a small stream of water we would have to cross to get to our hunting spot. It was still dark and were trying to be as quiet as possible and all of a sudden my foot got stuck in the mud and forward I fell. Knowing I was still trying to sneak up on the deer I tried my hardest not to laugh and picked myself up oh so gracefully. Needless to say that morning we saw no deer unless the objects I kept seeing in the dark were really deer trying to run far far away from us.
Real life Application: The darkness of sin and evil can be deceiving making you see things that are not really there and not seeing huge stumbling blocks that are. Walking in the light that God shines on your path is very important while we are living in this dark world. {Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, an a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105}

Lesson Number 3: God wants to bring you comfort and make you feel safe in the midst of your situation.
Woods Experience: The third day of hunting after we got through the darkness to our hunting spot we started the waiting game hoping that with daybreak we would find deer feeding and get a shot. It was about 6:30 a.m. and the sun hadn't come out yet and it was a cold morning and after walking for nearly 10 hours the day before my old body was beginning to ache. So I was cold, tired and sore trying to be alert enough just in case a deer would come into sight. After sitting in one place for a while Mark said ok it's time to move to a different spot. He saw how cold I was and was trying to get my blood flowing to circulate heat. We found a tree with a wide enough trunk that both of us could sit at the same tree. My wonderful husband put his arms around me to warm me up and in a matter of moments I felt my body relaxing and my eyes closing. I was at peace in the midst of a cold morning, I had warmth in the arms of my loving husband and I felt safe. We stayed out another hour and after no signs of deer we decided a warm meal in our bellies sounded good so we went back to the house.
Real life Application: When it feels like your whole life and every part of your being is hurting remember there is a heavenly father who wants to hold you in His arms. The Lord's arms are a refuge for the weary and strength for the weak. {Come to me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28}

My first deer hunting adventure is one I will not soon forget. I would have liked to have shot a deer but spending time with God and my husband I would not trade for anything. So my labor was not in vain and God did hear my prayer and helped me to learn while I was waiting for deer. What is the Lord teaching you today?