Refreshing the Soul

The realities of life hit the world big time the last two weeks. Stock markets crashed, governments scrambled to stabilize their monetary systems, people have lost life fortunes and many individuals saw their retirement incomes plummet. The news media does a good job of promoting fear and anxiety. What is a person to do?

At times like these I am reminded of Matthew 6: 25 through 34. Most of us should really start at verse 19. When we started the carving business I wondered how we would survive and asked God to show me in His Word. I opened my Bible to Matthew 6:25. That was the signature verse on the back of my carvings for a long time because I thought many other people needed the peace this scripture offers. Have these twelve years always been easy? No, they haven’t but I have grown a lot with the help from God and He isn’t done with me yet.

There is nothing like a walk in the woods to help me clear my mind and refresh my soul. It brings me back to the basics with God. Sunday afternoon I put on my pack, loaded the rifle and went for a walk to search for a whitetail buck. It was a cool crisp day with the sun shining brightly through a beautiful blue sky only God could create. It seemed I could almost touch it. I meandered around checking a few trails and set down on a small timbered ridge for a while and reminisced about the big buck I shot three years ago from this spot. I thought about staying there until dark but I was pulled to my feet by what might be found up on the old road two hundred yards above me. An hour later found me in the clear cut that has been productive for Ardella and I the last two years. The green and gold of the trees jumped off the mountains into the amazing blue sky and I felt worries swept away by God’s artwork. Two Ravens came by playing tag and I was reminded of Luke 12: 24.

About six o’clock a young buck appeared one hundred yards below me and I watched him until he fed out of sight. Slowly the light faded and a beautiful full moon rose over the Trestle Creek Mountains. I put the pack back on and headed for the cabin. Today wasn’t really about deer hunting; it was about refreshing my soul.