Gary Miller
Tuesday, November 23, 2021 10:37 am

I never like to see a doe with a fawn coming toward my tree stand. Nothing ever gets by a momma that's looking out for her young one. But here she comes. I sigh, knowing that it's just a matter of time before she locates me with only the slightest evidence of my presence. And as soon as she makes me, she's going to let every deer in the Tri-State area know to stay away from this location. But she's coming. So, I wait, watch, and try not to move or even breathe, hoping this one time things are different. So far so good. She comes under my stand with fawn in tow. After a few minutes, she settles down and becomes more comfortable with her new surroundings. Soon, her attention moves from where she is, to who or what might be trying to join them. Every few seconds she raises up from grazing to pinpoint a new sound that has just pierced her ears. My attention has changed too. Before she came, my head was on a swivel, making sure I was not missing a deer moving through. I looked up the hill, to my left, to my right, and behind me, to make sure nothing was sneaking in. Now, I depended on her. She would see any unusual activity before me. She would let me know if any other deer were approaching. I just needed to watch her, and notice what she noticed, and look in the direction she looked. My constant activity settled down so much when I looked to her first - when I sought her first. One day Jesus gave this advice to his followers. He said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." I think I know what he was saying. I think I know now what he knew then. He knew that life is full of so many activities and so many decisions within those activities, that we can be overwhelmed with doing what's best and right. There is just too much that needs to be done, too many things that need answers, and too many situations that change almost daily. All of these can overwhelm us into discouragement and depression. So, Jesus gave us a plan. It was basically this. "You work on our relationship, and I'll work on everything else. You seek after me, and I will take care of the other 'alls.' Or as my doe taught me. "Just keep your eyes on me and I'll keep my eyes on everything else."

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