Original Entry: Jun 23, 2008
McMinnville, OR
But may
all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation
always say, “Let God be exalted!” Psalm 70:4
I don’t
know what you call it; heat stroke, sun sickness, heat exhaustion, but I
experienced it on that day. I was
excited to be home after college and able to enjoy a full deer season without
the interruptions of football, which for the past fourteen years had cut my
season in half.
After a
steep one mile hike I spotted the buck and by 7:00 he was down in a brush
laden, nearly vertical canyon. With the
west slope shadows as my shade, I began to drag the buck up the canyon. The higher I drug the buck the hotter the sun
beat down on me until I was completely spent at 10am when I finally got the
buck to the point from where I had shot him.
The triple digit sun combined with the extreme physical effort caused my
legs to swell and cramp inside of my Wranglers.
The horse flies must have sensed something dying as they began to bite
on my defenseless body by the hundreds.
Did I
mention I was out of water! It is amazing how fast things can go bad only a
mile away from the truck when man is unprepared.
I knew
that not only would the deer spoil, but I might be in serious trouble if the
status quo didn’t change ASAP. There was
no way I would get that buck out and survive. I decided to leave it
under a Manzanita bush and try to make it out on my own. Fortunately I was on a trail that was visible
from a dirt road. My dad, grandpa, and family friend came to my rescue and
carried the buck out while I limped my pride out somewhere behind them!
I missed
the next two days of work because of that event!
Have you
ever been in a situation that could have gone either way?
A man’s
soul can go either way. May all who seek
you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say,
“Let God be exalted” (Psalm 70:4)!
Who is coming to rescue your soul man? Are you
listening? Maybe you should start to before things get really bad for you.
"Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads
to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the
road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)”
