The Trials of Hunting (and Parenting)
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he won’t depart from it.”
It’s Fall. That’s such a good time of the year, isn’t it? Does anyone love it like I do? The smell of wood smoke from fire pits and chimneys, the earthy smell out in the woods, the crispness in the air, the bright splashes of color everywhere, earlier and earlier dusk. I just find so much comfort in it, and my eyes are happy. And the activities that I wait all year to do—I get to hunt, I get to chase deer around, and...hunt and hunt and hunt. I force my kids to put up tree stands with me and spend time in the trees nearby. And I can’t wait to settle in up there and feel the anticipation and breathe in the air and…
Then I realize I am a things-aren’t-happening-fast-enough kind of guy. The waiting is too long. What’s all the anticipation for if there’s nothing coming? Am I the only one out here?
Nothing comes by until something comes by. And there’s nothing I can do about it.
It’s a waiting game.
Sometimes it lasts days upon days upon days. I start to question everything. Is this the right tree? Have I lost my competency in setting up my tree stand? Am I just out here at the wrong time of day? Did someone else mess this up for me?
Am I horrible at this?
It all comes down to timing, and there are many (so many) variables that create the perfect moment. Certain trails work better at different times of day, the direction of the wind can change things, what else is happening in the woods can affect the deer.
And honestly, most of that is completely out of my control. But when something walks into view, it feels like perfect timing. Like this was when and how it was always supposed to have happened.
I was sort of thinking about this with God’s timing for each of us. About our salvation. Perfect timing.
If you looked at me from the years of 15-25, you might’ve thought I was a Christian boy who walked away, but I don’t believe that was the case. I don’t think I was saved until later. Sure, I’d gone through the motions, but when I came to Christ, my whole mind and heart were involved. The relationship-with-Jesus information was new to me, and I understood it in a new way, and I bought it, eyes wide open.
I was ready to hear it.
Laura and I actually got saved within hours of each other, and our upbringings could not have been more different. Her parents had dropped her off at the door of a church for confirmation and never talked about any of it with her. It was odd, confusing to her. I grew up around church with God-fearing family who believed in Jesus. I knew all the stories, just not how they connected to me. And I just wasn’t really personally interested.
Then we got married and as we were trying to figure life out together, expecting our first, we sort of shopped around at different churches. We both just felt the need for something more solid, bigger than us, in our lives.
One of her friends had found a new church that sounded like a good fit for us to try. One Sunday morning, I came in from elk hunting and got ready, and we drove over, but when we got to the church, the door was closed. So, Laura’s friend suddenly just invited us to her church--First Baptist. We pulled into the lot and I looked at the sign, and I was definitely not interested. I’d heard about Baptists. But you know what? I was in the church building for maybe five minutes before I felt at home. And God just woke me—us--up. Each of us, independent of the other, saw our need of Him.
It was the perfect moment even though the getting there was full of variables that could’ve led us down different trails. Winds could’ve blown a different way, but they didn’t. The One who holds back the wind and causes it to blow where He wants it saw to the details.
He knew right where we were, and He waited for the perfect moment, in charge of the details, managing those variables. That knowledge puts confidence in me that helps me when I watch my kids—and the kids of other brothers and sisters in Christ struggle. In the past year, I’ve noticed some friends struggle with their children being saved—or with their kids’ walk. They head down different paths, moved by different motives and longings and needs, blown by different winds. But that doesn’t make it easy for their parents to wait.
And what do we say when we see that struggle? What can I say to give comfort? I want to be in the conversation without feeling like I’m just throwing out some lines or Bible verses without listening. In my head, I keep going back to Proverbs 22:6:
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he won’t depart from it.”
First, let’s acknowledge that Proverbs are not promises, but principles. Teach your kids the right things, and it’s there. They carry it with them. It can be the thing that shapes their thinking. The Lord can bring it to their minds in the moments they need it most. Build a strong foundation for them, and share with them what the Lord has done in your own life. Pray for them. Pray WITH them.
And then climb into the tree and wait. Sometimes we want to rush it. We want to create the “perfect moment” for our kids. But we can’t force it. We can just be faithful to teach them the Truth and trust Him with the variables.
Nothing comes until…something comes.
But God is watching over all those variables. And we don’t need to beat ourselves up about it and question everything. He doesn’t want us to believe we’re horrible parents. He wants us to bring our concerns and worries to Him and pray for our kids.
If you want to encourage parents whose kids are wandering off the trails, the most important thing is to listen, to pray with them, and to remind them that God hasn’t lost sight of those kids (or adults). If they did genuinely place their trust in Him as Savior, He cannot lose them. Nothing can separate them from His love (Romans 8:38, John 10:28). Those kids will be coming back under God, they are God’s people, and He will shepherd them home.
If the kids are like I was, though, a kid people would’ve assumed knew Jesus but didn’t, or they’ve just never come around personally—we don’t need to try to judge their hearts. God knows their exact situation, their exact openness or closedness to Him, their whole growing process. He wants their hearts as much as the parents want Him to have them.
And He is patient. We can trust Him with the timing, with the whole process.
When it happens and it’s for real, it’s perfect timing.
