| Outdoor Truths: Aiming Outdoorsmen Toward Christ May 3rd |
Gary Miller ~ outdoortruths.org
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If you have hunted for a considerable amount of time, you can trace your evolution. While once any deer would do; soon you held your shot for something larger. But what do you do after that?
I met a friend the other day that makes recurve bows by hand. He takes each piece of wood and allows its own characteristics to determine what it will ultimately look like. Most have some type of crook that doesn’t allow a perfect product, but they are extremely effective in the hands of a skilled archer. Not only does my friend make these bows, but he hunts with them as well. And I have seen his pictures of success with both turkeys and deer.
Most of the deer he has taken would be considered small by most seasoned hunters. He was especially proud of a four-pointer that was still in velvet. There, lying on the deer, was his trusty hand-made bow. I can imagine how close he really had to get in order to make that shot. And therein lays the evolution.
During the last few years, I have notice that my most memorable hunts were not determined by the size of the animal but by how close I could get to it. This spring I have been surprised by how close I have been able to get to turkeys even in the middle of a field. I have been able to stalk sometimes within twenty yards without causing alarm. I have left empty-handed, but with memories that seem to hang on. I can remember two years ago sneaking up on a deer with my bow and making a perfect shot at twenty-five yards. I mistakenly thought this was the ten-pointer I had been watching. Instead it was a six. I was nevertheless thrilled simply because of how close I was able to get. That one hunt has become one of my most memorable.
I have also noticed this evolution in my Christian life as well. I can remember the time when I was all about all of the things that make for the front page of the magazines. It was all about the numbers and the image. I really didn’t know I was that vain, but after years of being able to look back, it is clear that I was more interested in the trophy than in seeing just how close I could get to the real prize. Since that time I have thrown away most of the equipment that I thought I needed and have realized that to the get the closet, sometimes you have to get rid of the stuff that you thought you needed the most.
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