Hunting and Fishing with Christ

There is no substitution for a father. I was beyond blessed to have a loving and caring father in my life. I will never forget the one and only deer hunt he took me on when I was fifteen. Dad never deer hunted, but he knew I loved it. One evening, I asked him to take me deer hunting. He said, “Son, just tell me what to do and where to go, and I’ll do it.” It was on a seventeen-degree morning in January that we left the house; temperatures that cold rarely happen in Alabama. As he drove, we talked about life and what becoming a man actually means. Looking back, I wish I could have written down everything he told me. An hour later, we stepped out of the truck. I immediately felt the frigid air as I attempted to take a deep breath, only to start coughing. We had about a quarter-mile walk in the dark to reach the stand. This is when I learned my father was the loudest human being ever to walk through the woods. I would stop, turn around, and tell him to be quiet, only to walk another hundred yards and have to tell him again. We finally made it to the stand as it was breaking daylight. The stand was only a one-seater, so Dad sat right below me. I was hunting a field that was shaped like a peanut. The deer had always used the small pinch point to travel between their feeding and bedding areas. I sat in the stand, looking at the frosted hayfield, for what seemed like hours. I looked down and whispered to my father, “What time is it?” He looked up and yelled, “It’s only 6:55. Are you good?” He yelled so loud I thought we weren’t going to see anything for the rest of the hunt, but I responded with a thumbs-up. As I got situated again, I looked up to see a monster eight-point buck crossing the narrow gap. He was late to his bedding area, and he knew it. I threw up my rifle, found him in the scope, and yanked the trigger. When my eyes came off the scope, there he stood, looking around. I racked another one and shot. I saw the ground kick up right below his belly as he trotted off. How could I have missed twice? Dad looked up and said, “Son, you scared the mess out of me. Did you kill him?” I climbed down and ran over to the spot where the deer had been standing. To my surprise, there was blood! We tracked the blood about fifty yards, and there he was. My first deer, an eight-point weighing 220 pounds—a massive deer for Alabama. I was stoked. Dad high-fived me, hugged me, and then asked, “What in the world do we do now?” How blessed are we that we have a heavenly Father who will do anything for us, as the Bible states in Matthew 7:7: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.” How blessed are we that He will always be there for us, as declared in Deuteronomy 31:8: “He will never leave you nor forsake you.” How blessed are we that God gave us His only Son to be persecuted on the cross so that we may enjoy eternal life with Him, as written in John 3:16. How blessed are we to have a God to do life with here on earth? I do not know how people are able to go through life without knowing and having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Cancer took my earthly father away from me when I was twenty-nine, but I know it is only a matter of time until I see him and my heavenly Father. As it states in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” In times of heartache, you must give your suffering, anxiety, depression, and pain to God. In return, He will give you peace and rest. Our Father can handle anything we give Him, just as Jesus in the flesh went through many trials and tribulations while on this earth. I believe God sent Jesus to earth to make sure we couldn’t say anything about Him not understanding our earthly situations. John 16:33 states, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Prayer Father, thank You for giving Your Son, Jesus, in the flesh. Thank You for allowing Him to teach us and to go through life as a human, so we may see how He dealt with problems and difficult times. Thank You for taking away all burdens we may have. You are truly amazing. Amen.