We are entering the best time of the season to hunt whitetail deer. They are on the move as the does come in heat and the bucks are in hot pursuit. The weather is beginning to get right with it getting colder and the full moon waning. Even with bucks running does all over the property it is difficult to harvest those big smart bucks. God has gifted them with a keen sense of vision, big radar-like ears that can hear a twig snap several hundred yards away, and a sense of smell where it is all but impossible to keep from being discovered unless you hunt downwind from them. They are mostly active at night or in very low light situations (dawn, and dusk) and they blend into their surroundings so well they look almost invisible unless they are moving. They are especially difficult to see if you have macular degeneration like I do.
The most success is achieved if one walks to their deer stand in the dark. Deer can see a light moving through the woods very easily. I was discussing this with my 6-foot 7-inch 250 lb. builder the other day and he told me he was afraid of the dark. He wears a big headlight and carries another when he walks to his stand. He told me if he hears a noise he whirls around with his gun on the ready. I laughed heartily and asked him what made him so afraid, and he replied, “things that go bump in the night”. It’s as though a bogeyman is waiting for him behind every bush.
I walk to my stand in the darkness because I don’t want the deer to see a light going through the woods. I try to slip in without making much noise, but it is extremely difficult when you are blind in the dark. I try to avoid making noise, but I often step on branches and walk into trees, etc. The other day I fell flat on my face when I stepped in a hole. Fortunately, I have an excellent memory and can maneuver my route to my stand without too much difficulty by recognizing large trees and fallen logs etc. that I can barely make out in the dark. I am not the least bit afraid of things that go bump in the night. I enjoy certain aspects of the darkness, especially when I find my stand and get settled in, and can still see the stars overhead. But perhaps most of all I enjoy sitting high in a tree watching the sun begin to come up and the forest come alive, and I can finally see the wildlife scurrying around.
The Bible has much to say about the darkness and the light. God is light and heaven has no darkness but is totally illuminated by God Himself. Hell has been described as abject darkness and an abyss. An abyss is an endless, bottomless chasm. Satan and those who follow him will abide there and will endlessly suffer a state of dark loneliness without even a glimpse of light.
As I slowly lose more of my eyesight each day I appreciate light more and more. Unlike most folks, I can better appreciate what hell’s darkness will encompass and how wonderful light is. I believe blindness is one of the worst infirmities one can have. I’m enjoying what sight I have left as best I can and am adapting when and where I can. But I’m told by my doctors that it is a losing battle and if I live long enough, I will succumb to a black existence without light. Ugh . . . I pray that God will enable some researcher to develop a cure prior to that, but if not, I will necessarily endure.
I can bear my infirmity because of my faith. I don’t whine or get angry with God for allowing it, or sit around moaning about it exclaiming, “Why me?” At every opportunity. I make the most of what I do have and look forward to the day that I can see better than anyone on earth, perhaps for miles. I encourage you to make the most out of your life despite your aches, pains, infirmities, and complaints. This life is but a vapor. Enjoy it while it lasts and don’t be afraid of things that go bump in the night. Soon you will be bathed in glorious light in paradise . . . Nice . . .
2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.