Rochester New York's Chapter of Christian Bowhunters of America
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Enter
By The Narrow Gate
God’s grace amazes me. It’s awesome to see how he meets us each so
uniquely and individually. That should not surprise us, He is omnipotent after
all! It really speaks to my heart how He uses that grace within our situations
and experiences in our lives to ultimately draw us nearer to Him. In my
“B.C.” days, God spoke to my hard heart as I sat in my tree stand and soaked
up the absolute beauty of His creation around me. The autumn smells, the colors,
the southbound geese flying in V formation, and the whitetail rut; was it a
cosmic accident? Even
as an unbeliever I still recognized His handy work. Then I asked Him into my
heart and read Romans 1:20-21: “For since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,because, although
they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became
futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
This year was
the fourth season I have waited upon the Lord to provide a four legged blessing
within bow range of my longbow. Late last season I declared a “10 yard red
zone, circle of death” around my stands. Any deer without spots or buttons was
going to be fair game. I needed to know that I could indeed kill a deer with a
longbow and a cedar arrow. I was getting close and enjoying being in the woods,
reading, praying and hanging out with Jesus on stand. It was November 3rd and I
placed scent around my stand hoping to lure in a giant, rutting 180” buck. I
did except he was 4 years early and still had to grow the remaining 179 inches!
His two buttons would score about one inch P&Y.
As he moved on, a doe followed. She too found the scent curious. As Dan
Scorza says “the light came on” and as she paused broadside in the morning
sunshine at 24 yards I sent my cedar shaft on it’s way guided purely by the
graceful hand of God. I was AMPED!! I
prayed for a quick kill and stayed put for another hour and a half not wanting
to push her out of the thicket 50 yards away. At about 11 a.m., I got down and
walked to where I hit her and found ample sign. I resisted the temptation to
trail alone and opted to head to the cabin to meet up with my cousin Gary and
Brother Tim over lunch. Two or three sets of eyes on a trail are better than
one. At 1 p.m we prayed and optimistically hit the trail. We soon found the
crimson soaked arrow and enjoyed about 50 yards of easy trailing then the blood
just stopped. We’ve seen this before, peaks and valleys. At that point, the
three of us split up and searched the perimeter of the thicket looking for sign,
thus the broad way. Unsuccessful, after ten minutes we regrouped at last blood
when my brother said something so prophetic that looking back it blows me away
with simplicity. He said “Let’s get back to basics…old school tracking, on
our hands and knees.” Being
on your knees is never a bad idea. The search began for a speck of blood, an
over turned leaf or anything to give a direction of travel, the narrow path.
Trailing can be such an emotional roller coaster, peaks and valleys not unlike
our walk with Jesus. That
afternoon in my stand the Holy Spirit put it all together for me. Get back to
the basics, old school walk with Christ. Seek Him…pray…trust in Him...rest
in His peace. Praise
God, within 15 yards, Tim got us back on track and we found her after another 20
yards in the thicket we searched around. Two of us had walked within five yards
of her and never saw her. When we found her, I was humbled, to tears even. I
couldn’t help but ask why, why bless me? Grace and mercy! Wow, I get chills
now just thinking about that hunt and my ride home that night, thanking God for
my blessings and speaking to me. I recall the frustration and despair that set
in when we first lost the trail; the apparent helplessness of the situation. I
knew that I killed that doe but where was she? Once we dug our heals in, settled
our emotions and focused on the task at hand, God gave us the grace to press on.
Had we initially been steadfast in seeking the narrow road, we would have been
on track the whole time. It is awesome how He uses our blunders and wanderings
in life to ultimately bring us closer to Him.
Jesus desires to use your job, your situation to speak His grace into
your life. Abide in Him, the narrow gate, because broad is the path that leads
to destruction. Keep looking up, pressing toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Lace
up the boots and set your sights on the summit, and praise Him for the view from
the top AND the view from the valley floor!!! “Declare His glory among
the nations, His wonders among the peoples.” 1 Chron. 16:24 ~Scott Gargana
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