Deer Season

This is my favorite time of the year.  The crisp, cooler air gives me some much needed pep in my step.  I take extra-long runs in the country.  I also sweep the floors more often for some odd reason.  My favorite activity is sitting on our back porch sipping coffee and watching the leaves change colors down the hill from our house.  The commercial side of Christmas right around the corner overwhelms me; however, I absolutely love Thanksgiving.  I love everything about the month of November, and my family absolutely loves it because of deer season.  

The deer around Bonnerville are moving.  My boys have spent some time in their deer stands here and in Bosque County.  I am pretty hands-off when it comes to their expeditions.  When they were little, I packed their bags and helped them load up.  I watched for them to pull back in the driveway so I could help them carry everything back into the house.  

Times sure have changed.  Now, they plan what they are going to take with their Dad, load, and unload without any supervision or assistance at all from me.  They are grown!  Well, not really grown, but they sure are on their way to adulthood.  The days of me zipping up little camo jackets and helping them with their gloves are over.  

The Monico men are three weeks into the season and do not have a deer on the ground yet.  They have managed to rid our land here of two coyotes and a bobcat. Bosque County has one less hog as of last night.  They will keep on trying though.  They will continue crawling up into their stands and positioning themselves just right to get “the one.”  They will also enjoy everything single minute of the hunt until they get the kill. The memories they make in the woods are priceless and their stories are my entertainment.

I thought today when they came in empty handed that one of their deer hunting strategies could be applied to life.  Please allow me to explain.  Would the boys have any luck if they were laid up inside watching t.v. or wrestling on the trampoline scaring everything in Freestone County away?  It is doubtful.  

They have to plan, prepare, and hunt!  They have to get up, out, and DO IT!  When nightfall comes again without a deer on the ground, they will have to patiently station themselves the next morning again to be successful.  They can’t give up!

Maybe what you need this week is get up, get out, and position yourself for something big?  Truth be told, if you do not apply, you cannot get the job.  If you do not enroll, you cannot take the class. If you do not ask, you cannot possibly go out on the date.  If you do not try out for the team, you cannot make it.  You have to try!  

One of the greatest ways to position yourself for something great is to give thanks to God.  Thanksgiving and praise offered up to the LORD gets us right where we need to be and reminds us to trust Him.     

Psalm 28:7 is a good way to get started.  It says “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”  

Get up in the morning this week, thank the LORD that HE is with you every step of the way, and get out there, wherever your “there” might be!   Position yourself for something BIG and know that the Lord will help you.