On December 27th I drove toward my tree stand with hopes of getting a big bodied buck that had been visiting the area for about three weeks. The trail cam pictures showed that he should be showing back up in the evening any day now. I was heading in a little later then I would have liked, but it had been raining all day and the rain suit that I was hoping to hunt with this season was stolen from the porch after it was delivered. Part of the reason I bought it was because I recently learned how much the deer move during a rainy day. The previous day I sat on stand and only saw one doe, that didn’t come within bow range. I put on my gear and headed to the deer stand. Just before I got there I bumped the big buck. I thought, “Wow he is bigger then he looked in the pictures. My hunt is ruined, but at least I got to see him.” I decided to hunt the stand anyway. The deer would either return or I would get nothing like the previous hunt. After ascending the tree and attaching my safety harness, I put my fanny pack around a branch, but when I let go it fell all the way to ground making a loud unnatural sound as it hit the ground. “Well, if the buck isn’t completely spooked, this should do it”, I thought. If he didn’t see me climb the tree the first time, I am going to give him another chance. Before I descended to retrieve my fanny pack, I remembered some past hunts where everything seemed to go wrong, but ended on a positive note. After finally getting settled in the stand, there was a strong wind gust that just caused the tree stand to sway back and forth with the top of tree. I thought it would be best if I stayed seated. At a minimum I wanted to make it back home safe.
This hunt was starting to remind me of life. There are circumstances that happen to us, some of which are completely out of our control and some could be because of bad decisions. It is important for us to keep God at the forefront of our minds. Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and continue striving forward. Without this, we can easily let current circumstances or things in our past drag us down, get us discouraged and cause us to loose sight of the plan that God has for us.
I didn’t know if the deer was coming back, but I knew I wouldn’t get him sitting at home. I didn’t know if the Lord would let me harvest that deer; I also didn’t realize that there were more things that wouldn’t go quite right before the hunt came to a close. As I sat in the stand I continued to brace myself when the wind picked up. Eventually it started getting darker as the sun disappeared. I decided to make the most of it and just remain as motionless as possible until quitting time. I was about to check my watch when I heard the leaves crunch. “That must be a deer”, I thought as I reached slowly for my bow. With my bow in hand I looked down to see the deer broadside at about 12 yards. Big body, several points sticking up… it must be him. I started to concentrate on the shot. The front leg was not forward, but I didn’t have much time. I drew back aimed and released in a matter of seconds. He did the “mule kick” and took off. I started shaking. After an hour I started to look for him, but I didn’t find the blood I was hoping for. I went back to eat some dinner and brought my girlfriend back with me to find the deer. She spotted him before I did, but he was lying down with his head up. I couldn’t believe it. There were at least 5 large puddles of blood, it had been over 3 hours and he is still alive. I was not sure where I hit him, but I knew it wasn’t a good shot. We backed out and I decided to come back in the morning. In the morning I found where he was bedded, but he wasn’t there. I made a big circle as my girlfriend went along the path the deer might have traveled. As I made it back around to the deer stand I saw him lying not far from the stand. He had made a big circle before succumbing to the wound. After arriving late, spooking the deer, dropping my fanny pack, gusty wind and a poor shot, the Lord still allowed me to recover the deer. Lord help us to keep our eyes fixed on You and not on the circumstances of this life that could shift us away from Your plan. Help us to live a life for Your glory. Help us to finish well, as we look forward to being with You in Your kingdom.
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