Good Morning,
Wow, that Door County Pumpkin Spice Coffee is going down pretty well and another cup is in order this morning.
Ezekiel 34:11 For thus says the Lord God, I, I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
Many years ago during a very snowy deer hunting season, I was probably right around 13 years old, my Dad and I ventured North to hunt with relatives. There was a lot of snow on the ground and it was pretty cold outside. My uncle, my dad, my two cousins and myself were hunting tall timber, toward the end of the day. My cousin and I were on stand and both of us saw a wounded deer in the distance and decide to follow it. Her and I partnered up and thought we would track the wounded deer and be the heroes of the day. So we started stalking our prey and before we knew it the blood trail disappeared. It was getting dark and we decided to stop and go back to the vehicles and regroup. First off, we were told to stay on our stands and not move. We violated the first rule. Instead of following our tracks out, I thought we could make it easier by taking a short cut. I did get us out to a snowy fire lane and just came up short of about 75 yards from our vehicles. If I had just gone further down the lane, we would have been safe and sound. Instead, we broke rule number two and went back into the woods. Darkness came quicker that day for some reason, and before we knew it we could not follow our tracks anymore. Back then, flashlights were a d-cell joke. Neither of us had one anyway. We did pop out on another fire lane filled with snow. Together we decided that we had a better chance of being found if we stayed on an open lane. We knew that we had less of a chance to slip and fall also.
We took stock of what we had between us, should we have to stay out all night. Matches, toilet paper and two candy bars were going to save the day for us. I started to round up some birch bark and twigs to get a fire going. It was really getting cold. My cousin asked me if I was scared and I lied and said no. It seemed like the manly thing to say. I was scared silly and the thought of getting chewed out for making too many mistakes, I was terrified of the berating we would take. At that point I actually preferred being lost. I asked her if she was afraid and I am guessing she was, by her answer. She had some tears coming down her face and she said, "at least there are two of us and we aren't alone"
Not much later after we had a small fire going we saw headlights coming toward us on the fire lane. Two fellas pulled up and asked if we were lost. What a dumb question! They knew that our family was looking for us. They were just be some wise guys. They left us there and said they would send our family to get us. We had already decided that we weren't riding with anyone we didn't know. Very soon more headlights were on the way. My dad, my uncle and her brother stopped and asked us if we wanted a ride. Right about then I was in no mood for stupid remarks. I stayed silent and waited for the lecture and threats. It didn't happen. Instead they asked us where we went wrong and made suggestions as to what we could have done differently or better. They did say, "Never Forget This". Actually they never did let us forget it. A few years ago when my mother passed away, and there was a lot of family around, my cousin and I lived through the story once more. We all had a good laugh on that one. Dad forgot to mention that we knew they would be looking for us, if it took all night.
My point for the day is for all of us to turn mistakes into learning opportunities, especially with the young ones. I learned to purchase a good head lamp, just in case. I take plenty of toilet paper. I have more than just a candy bar along to eat and some matches at all times. That day I also learned to exhibit patience and not panic. A lesson well learned.
God exhibits patience with us when we walk off the trail and head in the wrong direction in life. He comes looking for us and hopes we will stop and regroup. He then desires to show us the different path. He is patient and kind, never rubbing our noses in the mess we made.
Have a great day.
Marty
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