I was asked this question recently, “Tell about a childhood experience that God used to prepare you for what you are doing today?” After thinking through this question for a few days and looking back over my life I had to answer with…hunting. I know, big surprise right? Honestly, thinking through what I do today, that would be the answer. Hunting for me is not a random week or so of scouting, picking a spot to place a stand, and keeping my fingers crossed. It’s not even a couple months of preparation. The hunting season never ends. As soon as the final whistle blows on deer season this year the next one begins. I start looking for sheds, reviewing trail cam pics, considering new plot and stand locations, and of course feasting on the great venison (which, by the way, is an important part of the season and if you recall is part of my seminar The Five Steps to Hunting Whitetail: Find, Follow, Fool, Finish, and FEAST).
So, how did hunting as a child help me in my work today? When I climb in the stand I know I have done everything I could think of to cover my bases. I have thought through as many scenarios as I could. I have considered everything that could go wrong (well, almost everything) and have come up with a plan of what to do if something does go wrong. I have done my research (scouting, trail cams, etc.). I have considered my audience (learning the habits of the deer). I have created an environment to produce a positive result (food plots, salt licks, shooting lanes). All of these elements can be related to what I do as I built programs here at our camp for our guests. There is so much preparation in what we do whether it is a week a camp or a weekend retreat. We focus on the characteristics of our quests, think through everything we can, create a safe environment, and create a program that move a camper through a unique learning experience, God does an amazing work in a life, and ultimately a life is changed.
Life Tip: God has called us to do His work here on earth. He is an all-powerful, all-knowing God who can accomplish anything He wants at anytime, BUT He has chosen us as His instrument in which to work through. Be focused and diligent today in taking the steps God has planned for you so that your “harvest” will be great.
Prov. 13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
Prov. 10:4 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Gal. 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
1 Cor. 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Field Tip: Scouting for next year does not have a starting point. I was sitting in a stand just this week thinking about two locations where I want stands next year to better my chances. Keep your trail cams up after season to see what kind of deer made it through the season. Get in the woods after season and look for sheds. There is a lot you can be doing now to help you be successful on next years hunts. Be diligent.
