Yesterday was the funeral. I traveled to Dennison, Ohio then to the cemetery and back to Uhrichsville. I didn't realize that I was going to be that close to my great uncle's farm or I would have packed a change of clothes and my hiking boots and spent a few hours wandering the woods. I've spent countless hours over as many days hunting in the woods and fields there. Turkey, deer, squirrel, grouse. I've walked it with my dad, my dog, and alone.
As I got older I ended up spending more and more time alone in the woods. I had always thought I would have some deep meditation time with God, but I've found that's hard when you’re constantly searching the area for the trophy whitetail. Still it was time in nature alone with God, even if neither of us was saying anything; it was time alone in His presence surrounded by the beauty of His creation. Even as I sit and type this I can feel the chill of those winter deer hunts, and the early morning in the turkey woods.
Every morning after helping me into the woods, and every time we made a kill my dad would pray and thank God for the opportunity to hunt. At the beginning of each hunting trip he would tell me this, "Enjoy it, because this opportunity isn't going to last forever." He would remind me all the time of how blessed we were to have relatives with that much land. It's a farm that people would pay large amounts of money to hunt on, and I had free access to it. But it always came with the reminder not to take it for granted, to soak up and enjoy every minute of it.
Yesterday morning I had thought about grabbing some clothes to walk through the woods in, but I didn't think I'd have time or that I'd be that close to the farm. When I found out that I was going to be just down the road I had a longing to go and walk there. I was in dress pants and shoes, not at all ready for an outdoor adventure. As I left and began to head home I drove past the farm. I passed the field where I wounded a beautiful 10-point buck because I didn't pay attention to details. I drove past the barn where we'd change into our hunting clothes. I turned down the road that leads to the field where I spent most of my hunting time. As I did I passed the dirt road I had been walking when I shot my first Turkey.
I planned to just drive to the entrance of the field and turn around. But as I got closer I couldn't just do that. I parked, got out, grabbed the knife I keep in my car for emergencies, and began to take a walk. The air was cool; for one of the first times I didn't have a gun with me and I wasn't burdened by all of my hunting gear. As I walked the words my dad told me every time we headed into the field hit me, "Enjoy it, because it won't last forever."
Life is changing. I haven't hunted there much in the last seven years because of how crazy things have gotten, first college, then moving out of the state, and finally getting married and taking a senior pastor position. But I know the field and the surrounding woods well. I've walked them countless times. I still remember my first trip, I had no idea where I was or how I'd gotten to that spot, it all seemed to mesh together. But over the years that's changed. I can get anywhere on that land now and can tell you the fastest way to get there.
As I walked up the hill into the field my mind remembered a lot of things, specific moments of hunts. I got to the top and looked over the field, the three massive oak trees in the middle, the row of trees that separates the front and back parts of the field where I sat and killed my first deer, the hollow where there's a small waterfall and where I saw my first wild turkey. So many memories. I stood there, the words of my dad filling my mind, and I prayed. I thanked God for the time I had in that field, the opportunities I had to hunt there, the animals I've seen, killed, and missed from different points surrounding it.
I continued my walk, sticking the tree line and moving to the far corner on the North West side. It's the highest point in the field and you can see most of the forty acres from there. I stood for a few minutes, just taking it all in. I walked a little more down to the old gatepost which leads into the old back pasture; just to the right of it is where my first deer fell. Again I prayed, just thankful for the time. I walked back to the peek, took one last look over the field, and began to head back to my vehicle. As I walked out I just kept saying thank you for the time that I had there. Life is changing, and as I left I realized that this might be the last time I ever walked out of this field.
I'm glad God gave me one more walk. I'm glad that my dad told me so many times to enjoy it, that he reminded me so many times that it wouldn't last forever. I don't know what the "field" is for your life. I don't know what the blessing is. For me it was a place in nature to escape the rest of the world. It's something that I don't really have right now, and my heart longs for. Yesterday's walk was something I've needed for a long time. Whatever it is, I urge you not to take it for granted. Don't live like it will be there forever, because it probably won't be. Soak it all in, enjoy it fully, and be grateful for the time that you have.
To God alone be the glory!
Peace be with you
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