The Wife of a Hunter…

_Stick with me here, this may seem a little long… but it’s a story I want to tell. I must be upfront & honest with you; I was about 85% excited & 15% scared…make that 15% excited & 85% scared. My husband had been wanting me to come “experience” hunting with him for a while…& I finally agreed. Just to be clear, I had no idea what to expect. The night before we were to go hunting I went through a “crash course” on instructional knowledge, statistics, & deer anatomy. I listened intently & tried to memorize every piece of information that was coming my way. I wanted to be prepared just in case I did see a deer. We went to bed & I am pretty sure I slept for maybe two hours. But that didn’t matter, once everyone started stirring & moving about in the house I was awake. I was told to make sure I went to the bathroom before we left, as there would not be lady facilities where we were going. We started gearing up & dressing in our appropriate layers, I remember they kept adding layers to my apparel-which trust me I would soon thank them for. You know that moment when your ready to go somewhere & nature calls? Well, you guessed it, I had to pee & I was wearing 42 layers! How was I going to make this happen? I waddled into the bathroom & don’t ask me how, but let’s just say I took care of business. Whew!
One thing I didn’t think about when agreeing to all this was, the fact that we had to get up before the sun rose & ride a four- wheeler into the pitch black to get in our appropriate hunting spots. All layered up I stood there looking up at the night sky to see the moon shining its light onto this small valley of trees. God’s creation, I was in awe. I took a mental picture since I knew there was no way to get to my phone in all this clothing & I wanted to remember that moment. Then I heard, “alright, let’s go!” I climbed onto to back of the four-wheeler clinging to my husband, & I thought to myself, this is it…I am really doing this! We took off & man was the wind whipping. I decided to lower myself & tilt my face into the crest of my husband’s shoulders, he was warm & this helped with my nerves, (I mean excitement) & the wind. Up the mountain we went, onto the winding dirt trail, entering deeper into the woods. We got to the location that I am going to call “the drop off point”. You see this is where you park the four-wheeler & walk to your deer stand…in the dark! I don’t remember this very important fact being brought up during my “crash course” the night before. “Are you kidding me?”, I whispered to my husband. “No, shhhh let’s go.” He whispered back. Let me just stop right here for a minute. Every scary movie I had ever seen that involved the woods came to my mind. I kept thinking, I know how this ends, I saw The Blair Witch Project! As we crept into the woods I held tightly to Clint, my husband’s hand, praying that we would reach the tree soon. And there it was, thank you Lord. We climbed up the tree & into the stand. Once we were all situated, I nestled against my husband’s shoulder just in time to see the sunrise. If I saw nothing else while sitting in this tree, watching the sun rise over God’s amazing creation literally took my breath away. I soaked it all in, every color of every leaf, the sounds of the squirrels & chipmunks scurrying about, the feeling of the wind blowing on my skin, & the warmth & presence of the man that I love right beside me. I would be forever grateful to God for this moment.

As the minutes passed into hours I got a little stir crazy. All these thoughts were racing through my head of what needed to be done when we arrived home from our trip. I looked at what I was wearing… I sure liked the camo. I felt “hidden” in it. If I could wear this outfit all the time would it hide my fears, my insecurities, my imperfections & scars? I mean green was my favorite color & this had all different shades. I was camouflaged. Everything was concealed. That was its job after all to create the illusion that you actually belonged in the spot you were in, nothing out of place, simply disguised. And I realized this was what I had been doing in my own life. Was I real? Was I honest with myself and others? Was I attempting to hide from God…. when I know He can see into the deepest parts of me & He knows me better than I know myself. What a revelation to come upon while sitting here in the silent woods awaiting the arrival of a deer. How cool that God did that & in that setting! I made an agreement with myself to be honest & raw, & to quit worrying about what others thought of me & pleasing them. I would listen to God & push hard & try to be obedient to Him.
Finally, it was time to climb out of the tree stand & head back down…but I wanted to walk for a minute & my husband said go ahead. And just then I spotted her…a deer! I looked at my husband pointing at the deer in some kind of motion, like what do I do? He motioned for me to get on one knee, but I was so excited I wasn’t fully paying attention to his signal & I got down on both knees. I got in position trying to recall every piece of information about hunting I was given. I closed my left eye, lined up my shot in the scope & the next thing I know I was laying flat on my back, with my heart pounding, & my husband standing over me with this Chester cat grin. “What are you doing?” he said trying not to laugh… “I fell over!” I said. As he helped me up, I couldn’t believe the thoughts that were racing like a whirlwind through my head & the adrenaline that was rushing on overtime. I took a step & caught another glimpse of the camouflage on my legs, & basically my entire body. “Hidden no more,” I said to myself. Psalm 139:23-24 came to my mind… “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” God had always seen me. The good, the bad, and the ugly parts… Even the ones I thought were hidden. Every detail, He knew about & He still chose to be my Friend. To love me unconditionally. To want to talk with me. There was no camouflaging that.
I look back at that day & smile. God is so good, so holy, & righteous. Our one & only Creator. He created you & me. I was amazed that He could use a hunting trip to bring to light so many things in my life. I would continue to join my husband in the woods, in the quiet, in God’s breathtaking creation & He would continue to work on me… thank you God for making me the wife of a hunter.

—-Are you hiding out? Do you wish you could camouflage parts of your life? We all do at times, but we serve a mighty God that is more powerful than anything else that could come our way. He is for you, not against you. Cling to that thought, hold onto it tightly, and talk with the One who sees you. Think about Psalm 139:23-24… Oh, how He longs to hear from us.

Write around the corner,
Faithfully His,
Heather