GUARD YOURSELF

There are a ton of trees in our area, however only a few fire hydrants. You may be thinking, “yeah, so?” Well, there are also a ton dogs.

Dogs and fire hydrants make me think of those cartoon images from my youth where it seemed like dogs only “relieved” themselves on fire hydrants.

Maybe those cartoons were of dogs that lived in the heart of dense inner cities, or maybe it’s easier for an artist to draw a cartoon of a fire hydrant rather than a tree. Either way, dogs in my neighborhood have a plethora of trees to choose from, and they seem to take advantage of each and every one.

So, why all this talk about dogs and where they relieve themselves?

Well, the other afternoon I was walking our dog (a female, who doesn’t utilize either a tree or a fire hydrant) and noticed that a lot of the trees are discolored from dogs relieving themselves. So, of course, that got me wondering if it’s harmful to trees. After some research, turns out it is and can also cause long term effects to the tree. The bark of the tree provides some protection, but not very much. These trees, though rooted firmly in their foundation, can’t defend themselves, so there they stand, day in and day out, taking whatever the world (or dogs) dumps on them.

Thankfully, we have a way to protect ourselves from becoming the world’s dumping ground.

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power, put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

STAYING FOCUSED FOR SUCCESS

Knowing it could be many hours before getting out of my deer stand or even seeing a deer, I nestled into my seat and patiently waited for the sun to rise. While sitting in the darkness I reminisced of previous hunts and felt certain there were deer sneaking all around me. Finally, the sun began to rise, just as it has for the past 31 deer hunter opening mornings. 

As the darkness gives way to the light, my eyes and ears go to work. My head slowly pivots from side to side like an owl scanning for field mice. In recent years it takes a bit longer for my eyes to focus. 

An experienced hunter could see many possible deer in this picture

In the twilight everything looks like a deer; the short oak tree with its brown leaves, the trunk of a fallen pine tree; even my own shadow looks like a deer. My ears pick up sound as well; the flutter of a chickadee’s wings swooping overhead and the woodpecker looking for breakfast in a dead tree.  I also hear a red squirrel chattering away; maybe to warn me of an approaching deer or maybe to warn the deer of me. Nevertheless, I am completely focused on my immediate surroundings. My eyes zoom in around each tree and behind them looking for any movement. As the sun continues to rise the frost begins to settle on my shoulders and everything else in my life fades away; it’s just me and the woods. I know that the longer I stay focused on my objective, the higher percentage of success, so for countless hours I continue to focus on the woods in front of me and nothing else. Now, if only I had that type of focus in other areas of my life.

Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter til the full light of day. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.