Thursday, October 27, 2011 9:38 am

Gary Miller

 There’s always one deer that stands out in the group. And it’s always a doe – the matriarch of the clan. She’s the one who stands guard while the others eat or play. She is usually the last one in line and is quick to scan the surroundings of her newly entered area. If anything even seems to be slightly unnatural; she becomes immediately skeptical. The benefit the doubt never goes to the surroundings, but to her. She trusts her nose and will move and reorient herself until her eyes verify and perfectly pinpoint the perpetrator. I know this because it happens to me all of the time.

 During this last time, I sat admiring the tenacity of this doe. While the others picked and played, she never did. It took her a long time to finally put it all together, but she did and eventually I was busted. What caught my attention more than anything was her single-mindedness. There was nothing that was going to interrupt her from the task at hand. She did not intersperse any other activity with her desire to locate the foreign smell. She would not pick, play, pay attention to the others, or even allow herself to lose focus on finding the source of, what to her, was something that did not belong. She found it when she sought it with all of her heart.

 I watched my lesson for the day. I saw in practice and by example the reason why so many of my questions to God go seemingly unanswered. Instead of single-mindedness, I am double-minded. Instead of seeking Him with all my heart, I am half-hearted. And instead of staying until I trace where God has led me, I am quick to move on without ever locating the truth that God has placed there. I sense that I am not alone in my confession.

God’s direction is clear. He says, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” And not only is His direction clear, but his creation gives illustrated proof. What more do we need.

Gary Miller
gary@outdoortruths.org