A SEASON OF CHANGE

It’s autumn in the upper Midwest and the woods are truly beautiful.

The hot and humid summer air recently gave way to a more crisp and refreshing sensation. There seems to be more people out and about enjoying it as well. Whether hiking in the woods or walking down the street, the people I encounter seem more pleasant. The animals that stay for the winter are busy fattening up and the birds are preparing for their journey south. Of the four seasons, autumn is my favorite.

The variety of trees go through their own change differently; all going through the same change and preparing for the next season, but the process for each tree looks very different. The mighty white pines will shed their needles and instantly replace them, retaining a green foliage through the winter. The leaves of the oak will turn from green to brown, while certain maples turn a brilliant crimson. It creates quite a sight!

For people, it’s important for us to go through a season of autumn as well. Call it a time to shed some extra baggage if you will; a time to get rid of those things that keep us from preparing for our next season of growth. For some people that may appear seamless, like the white pine. For others, it may be kind of dull, like the oak. Of course, some will go through the season in a spectacular fashion that invokes oohs and ahhs, like the maple. Whichever way you get through your season, it’s that way because God created it just for you.

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship.

DECISION DECISIONS

I have been blessed to have been given the opportunity to sit right next to both my sons when they had the opportunity to shoot at their first deer. This was a monumental moment in their youth.

 

“The boys,” as they are routinely called in our house, have heard deer hunting stories since birth. The stories range from the incredible food we eat (like beef stroganoff, homemade spaghetti and meatballs, and the “deer hunting cookies”) to stories of success and defeat in the woods. The boys had a good idea of what the woods looked like from pictures. So, when they turned 12 and had completed firearms safety training they could go with deer hunting. Once that happened we would start planning the trip. The boys would receive plenty of advice from the older men in our group. I gave them plenty of advice as well, but my final words were, “it's better to regret not taking a shot than to regret taking a bad one.”

The morning of the hunt would finally arrive. We’d pack up our gear and head to the woods. Once in our deer stand I’d offer a few last bits of advice. We’d quietly sit side by side in pitch black and wait for the woods to come alive. Whoever saw a deer first would tap the other person’s foot with their boot. For both boys the deer came from my side of the stand, which meant the boys could move about without being seen. In our woods, you typically only get a few seconds to make a good shot. That is when the adrenaline starts to pump. You can hear your heart pounding and wonder how the deer can’t hear it. The boys would shift back and forth trying the find the target in their sights. I could imagine them filtering through all the advice they received, and now it was time to make a decision; only a second left and the opportunity would be gone.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation where you’d had to make a difficult decision? Maybe it was a career path or relationship choice; you probably had all the information you needed and all that was left to do was to pull the trigger…or not.

As beautiful as this tree is, it seems unsure if it wants to change to autumn colors

For the boys, they each made a different decision. One shot and the other didn’t; and both decisions were correct for each situation. Both boys did harvest a deer during their first season, but they made sure it was the right decision for them in each situation.

In our family, we do a lot more praying about big decisions than we used to and because of that, we know we’ve made the right decision.

Proverbs 14:11 For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.