I'm back at home after an extended time away hunting and preparing for some outdoor events. I had better not plan on staying around too long; if I get too comfy I'll miss a bunch of bucks on the move. The weather has been very inconsistent. I have hunted on days where the temperatures have soared to the mid-seventies and days when the skies have dumped two inches of rain. I have endured the cold and forty mile per hour winds. And all of this mostly in the same tree stand. The deer have also been inconsistent. I have witnessed bucks chasing doe and also times it seemed more like September than late October and November. All of these variables just emphasize once again that even though hunting has advanced in enormous ways, we are still subject to things we cannot change and circumstances we cannot understand. For instance, why did that nice buck not come the way all the others came? Why did he turn around at that one particular time? Why did he stop at the one place where I had no shooting lane? No hunting invention will ever be able to answer these questions. It is just the way things are. It happens to the veteran and the novice. Their reactions, however, will be different.

In our lives, preparation is good. We do it in many ways. We buy insurance, save, plan, and even try to predict what might be around the corner. But if you have been around long enough, you know there are some things you just cannot prepare for enough. There are some things that hit us so hard or come at us so fast, we are caught unaware. There are also some things that no matter how hard we try, we cannot do anything about. It is at those times we must be able to lean on something greater than the things that have caught us unaware. It is not necessarily a time to learn, or listen, but simply to lean. I have found, there is only One that is greater than anything this world has at its disposal. He is the Lord. When we don't understand, He does. When we can't see the way clear, He can. When we don't have the ability, He does. And when we are shaken and unsure, He is solid and unmovable. Don't neglect planning and preparation. These will serve you well. But in your planning don't forget to make plans for the things you cannot change and the circumstance you cannot understand. Plan on leaning and leave the things you cannot understand to the One who holds the whole world in His hands.

gary@outdoortruths.org ~ www.outdoortruths.org