Outdoor Truths: Warm days of winter
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By Gary Miller
I love the warmer days of winter. It gives me a chance to walk my hunting areas. Because the leaves are off the trees and because there is no concern about spooking deer, I can gather all kinds of information from the last season. It is a great time to assess the good and bad of the previous year and plan some changes for the next. The woods will give a hunter plenty of information about the previous year and about the possibilities of the next season. One just has to do go out, walk around, be attentive, and let it all speak. This year, more than anything else, I’m just looking for signs of life. Mainly the life of bucks. I saw very few of them in one area. So, I want to find out why. Again, the woods will speak. Hopefully they will speak volumes and certainties. But regardless, they will speak.
I know I talk and write about this a lot – the truth of how creation speaks, but it is never more illustrated for deer hunters than this time of year. Maybe a warm February day ought to cause us to be reminded of how creation also speaks to us about things more important than deer. After all, it is still the primary way God speaks to mankind. Yes, it is. While God wants to speak to his followers through the Scriptures, He still speaks to all people through creation. And this is so neat to me, because it shows me His dogged and determined pursuit. That is, He is going to show Himself to us and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. While a man may burn a Bible, he can never burn all of creation. And even in a fire, God will reveal His desire to purify and start something new. We just can’t hide from God. And that’s not a bad thing. It’s a good one. It’s good because not only does it show that we can’t hide from God, but it shows that God will never give up until he finds us. And what will He do when He finds us? He won’t condemn or even criticize. He will celebrate. The lost coin was celebrated when found. The lost sheep was celebrated when found. The lost son was celebrated when found. And God wants there to be about 7.9 billion celebrations, because His desire is that every single lost soul be found. What was the message as I perused my hunting area today? It was revealed in the trees. I saw every limb of every tree reach to the heavens in celebration. And the message for me was to live in celebration because this will be the posture of all those in heaven as we welcome all those, like us, who have been found.
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ν Gary has written the Outdoor Truths article for 20 years. He has also written four books which include compilations of his articles and a father/son devotional. He also speaks at wild-game dinners and men’s events for churches and associations.
