The Changing Seasons

It’s back to school time, so lately I’ve been receiving lots of photos of some of my 14 grandkids first day of school. You know…the traditional photo of them on the first day of the new school year, standing in front of their house holding a sign or blackboard stating Kindergarten or 8th Grade or whatever school year is beginning for them. Funny…it seems like just yesterday, I was the one taking the photos of my own kids on their first day of school.

Actually the number of these photos are decreasing for me each year now, since five of the 14 are now in college or have graduated from college. One is engaged to be married, so if I live long enough, I may start to get a whole new batch of first day photos of my great grandkids. In any case, lately I’ve been reflecting on my life, as well as what “wisdom” I might pass on to family or friends that might help them. Usually, it has to do with learning from my mistakes. As Warren Buffett once said, “It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes.”

Another sign of the change of seasons: It’s also now less than a month from the opening of the Missouri’s Archery Deer Season, so that’s been on my mind also. I love hunting with a bow and arrows — and over the past 40 years, I’ve been blessed to shoot quite a few deer with my bow and arrows. I have been further blessed to be able to enjoy their nutritious meat and to share it with my family and friends (including some of you guys). I realize a lot of the guys that read this are strictly catch-and-release fisherman. Bear with me. I promise you a thought-provoking end to this post, but first let me indulge in writing a little about “catch-and-keep bowhunting”.

Im not a trophy hunter; whatever God puts in front of me, I consider a gift. I enjoy my time in the woods, but I enjoy it that much more when I harvest a deer. A bow shot at a deer does not come easy. It’s not like an imaginary shot at the ones who keep eating your hosta plants. After getting up well before dawn and standing for hours in the cold in a tree stand in a tree that I previously selected after hours of scouting, I’m not into letting a deer walk away without ever releasing an arrow.

The whispered twang of the arrow leaving the bow and the sight of it hitting its intended target; a quick, clean kill—these are a few of my favorite things. The satisfaction of getting the deer out of the woods, butchering it myself, aging it, and then serving it with a fine Cabernet to friends and family add so much more to my satisfaction.

Even if my guests don’t always appreciate what it takes to get that wild venison steak on their plate, it’s a lot more special to me than serving a steak from a steer —which was fattened in a food lot, and injected with tons of hormones and antibiotics. (BTW, maybe those hormones and antibiotics are part of the reason you or your wife or kids feel sickly so much of the time.)

Hey don’t get me wrong, I love all God’s creatures, but I especially love some of them right next to the mashed potatoes and gravy.

During my quiet time in the morning, I also enjoy reading devotionals by Steve Chapman (not to be confused with Steven Curtis Chapman). Steve is a fellow hunter, fisherman and storyteller. He’s also a successful singer, songwriter, recording artist and author.

In his words, Steve describes the inspiration for his writing: “I began hunting in my early teens and I see it as an effective and adventurous way of gleaning a great source of food. But hunting has become much more than that to me. Years ago, I discovered that not only can hunting yield nourishment for the body; there is also food for the soul and spirit that can be gleaned in the fields and woods. I call these finds, ‘the harvest of truths.’ The life-changing and character-building insights I’ve encountered while outdoors are the greater trophies that hang on the wall of my heart. It is these discoveries that fill the pages of my books.”

Recently, I heard one of Steve’s songs called The Arrow and The Bow. Here are the lyrics from the song:

Here is wisdom for the moms and dads that time has proven true

The day your children learn to walk they start to walk away from you

For at first you hold all of them, cradled safely in your arms

Then one day their hand is all you hold, and soon its just their heart

And there’ll even come the time

If your love for them is true

You’ll have to let their hearts go free

And let them love someone else not only you

Can the sparrow ever learn to fly if the nest is all it knows

Can the arrow ever reach its mark by remaining in the bow

You have to let it go

(Steve Chapman/Shepherds Fold Music/EMI/ BMI)

Perhaps it could do us all some good to slow down and reflect on these words of wisdom for a little while. Maybe even to ask ourselves, “So what; so what now?’

And also, if the lyrics from this song strike a chord with you, I suggest you google this song and others from Steve. I highly recommend his devotional books including:

A Look at Life from the Riverbank — Stories About Fishing and the Meaning of Life

A Look at Life from a Deer Stand — A Hunters Wisdom on What Really Matters

The Hunt for Faith — Finding God in the Great Outdoors

10 Ways to Prepare Your Son for Life

Feel free to share your thoughts or experiences on the FATC FORUM. Remember our motto, It isn’t just about the fly fishing. 

John Muckerman

FATC Inspirational & Leadership Studies Lead

• This topic was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by JOHN MUCKERMAN.