The hunt starts now
- Michelle Wood: SWCD
- March 23, 2018
- 1553
If you have been reading my column for awhile, you know how adamant I am about hunt preparation. In my last article I shared the good news of drawing an elk tag in Wyoming and put in for a mule deer tag in the same area for Taryn, which should draw sometime in May. Well, it’s time now to get serious about preparation. We’re not in school where you can cram for an exam the night before. The hunt starts now.
Anticipation is the fuel for preparation. Mr. Pawlak (WTA TAGS) said, “Always nice to have a quality hunt to look forward to. The anticipation is one of the best parts.”
You don’t have to be a hunter to draw from this. Set a goal. If you're passionate enough about it, the struggle to reach that goal becomes easier. The sooner you start, the easier the goal.
So I announced to Taryn that March 1 we would start (again) eating healthier. Me and my big mouth. She took me serious. If we go to the grocery store and she catches me checking out the sweet stuff, I get a comment or “the look.”
We do like jello. But now it’s sugar free. You can have a hamburger but no bun.
Oh well, we got all the necessary papers to fill out from our consultant: equipment lists, liability waivers, personal info questionnaires and such. We got a kick out of the part where it asked to list your hunting experience. Just for fun I wrote, “How much time do you have?”
But there is so much to do. Check your medical and travel insurance, necessary shots (tetanus updates), update your hunting gear, train (exercise) and such.
We also found out that although the mule deer season doesn't open until the third day we are there, they have made arrangements for Taryn to have her own guide, and they will scout for potential shooters the first two days while my guide helps me locate a nice bull elk.
Preparation is something that applies to so many things in life. Many of you know I grew up in a musical family. I sang my first solo at age 9. I cried my eyes out in fear, but I did it. We went on to create Daystar Ministries, traveled everywhere with my family leading revivals, doing concerts, even recorded a gospel tape. So here we are last Sunday, March 18, some 54 years later, and I was asked to sing a special song for church.
I try to practice a song at least 50 or more times before I go on stage. I still to this day get nervous: sweaty, clammy palms. My brain goes blank just before I'm supposed to sing. I’ve learned this is God’s way of letting me know to depend on him for courage.
It’s not about me. It’s all about him. Just as I always do, I bow my head, humble myself and turn it over to him. “In your hands, Lord."
On March 11, Sunday morning, we lost another brother. At his “funeral” the following Thursday, we had a celebration of his life. Stories were shared of the good times he shared with friends and family. I thought of the reasons I share my thoughts with you in this column. What is most important in life? My brother loved Jesus, and he let everyone know it. He was prepared to meet him on that day.
You know God does not want to be put on the wall in a glass case with a hammer and a sign that reads, “In case of emergency, break the glass!” He wants to be an intricate part of your everyday life. The hunting and traveling and writing means nothing unless God is a part of it. The greatest preparation begins and ends with him.