Our church is currently going
through a series titled, “It’s a hard knock life.” The focal point is that we all
go through trials and tribulations. The Pastor is teaching how the bible can
prepare and help us through these trials. A couple of weeks back, Pastor
preached about how some of the choices we make can lead us down a path of
trials and tribulation. As he preached, I thought about poor decisions I’ve
made and the negative outcomes. I also thought about the hard decisions I’ve had
to make and the positive results of them. It was a good sermon; little did I
know this would play into my upcoming turkey hunt.
Turkey hunting is by far my
favorite thing to do in the woods. Since the first time I heard the thundering
gobble of a tom (the male turkey), I was hooked. Turkey hunting typically
happens in the spring. In the upper Midwest, that means winter is in the past. Since turkey hunting is my favorite thing to
do, I spend a lot of time preparing for the season. Usually, two months before
the season opens I’m in the woods scouting and plotting the hunt. This year was
different; there were a lot of things that kept me from my routine. Some were
things that God wanted me to take care of; others were just poor choices on my
part. My brother and I have hunted these woods with our sons for many years and
I knew where the turkeys would be…so I thought. There were things that needed
to get done right up to the night before hunting. That meant I had to leave my
house before 3:00am in order to get to the woods well before sunrise. Eventually
I made it to the woods, setup the blind and put the decoys out. A little
information about male turkeys - in the spring, they are always looking to
mate, and gobbling is how they let the hens know where they are. Needless to
say, they typically gobble a lot. Sunrise arrives and there was no gobbling. I sound
a few of my calls and they go unanswered. Then, something across the field
catches my attention. It’s another hunter. I’m a little concerned, but he’s 250
yards away. The time ticks away, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30 and still no turkeys; now I’m
starting to get worried. Finally, there’s movement to my right…it’s a turkey! However,
it’s a hen, which you can’t shoot in the spring. No problem, where there’s a
hen, there’s usually a tom. I anxiously wait and scan the area for the tom. No
tom. The hen walks the entire field and eventually disappears into the woods.
Still no toms. An hour later another hunter comes out of the woods. At this
point there’s too much activity for any turkeys to come around. I get out of my
blind and realize there’s another hunter on a different edge of the field. Four
hunters on one field? In my opinion, that’s three too many. I packed up my gear
and hiked back to the truck.
 |
| The lone hen had the attention of four hunters as she crossed the field. |
During the hike out I concluded
that I didn’t deserve to see a tom. I didn’t scout to prepare for the hunt and instead
chose to spend the preseason doing other things. Pastor was right; my choices
led me down this path.
Proverbs 28:19 Those who work
their land will have abundant food, but those who chases fantasies will have their
fill of poverty.
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