I have previously posted about some of the wild animals that are in and around my neighborhood. I like to relate an experience I had just a few days ago.
My neighborhood is full of mountain wildlife. I have always had a deep appreciation for these creatures and consider myself blessed when I get to share a part of my day with some of the more regal ones. By that I mean the dear, bear, fox and once every few years a mountain lion or bobcat. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the birds, squirrels and rabbits playing in the yard but, that I see every day. About once a week we have deer in our yard. Not the same ones every time but there are about thirty that cycle through in small numbers at various times. Over the years there have been two bucks that come and lay in the yard. They like the shade and they like laying under one of our Blue Spruces as there is a nice soft mulch bed for them to lounge in. They are both majestic. I enjoy watching them move and am always impressed with their strength and grace especially when they jump our fence. One is larger and has a dream rack, it is huge and almost perfect in its symmetry. It makes my day when I can spend time just observing them. Just the other day however, the large buck was in distress. It appeared that he had broken one of his front legs. My heart was heavy. He was in our yard and the neighbor’s yard all day and into the night. I knew that in the morning if he was still there I would have to call Animal Services and they would have to put him down.
Here was this majestic beast who if he wanted could rip me apart could quite easily yet, each time I would check on him, he would look at me not with fearful or intimidating eyes but rather with questioning and beckoning eyes. I felt as if he was asking me why this was happening to him and if I could help. I answered him in both cases that I could not help but I knew of someone who could – my Lord and Savior. Before this day I would have written him off, not callously but, just as part of the circle of life, que sera sera.
Before going to bed I checked on him and there he laid, hidden from prying eyes. That night I prayed for him that the Lord protect and heal him. Praying for a wild animal was a first for me but I was driven to do so.
The next morning before doing anything else I went to check on our buck. He wasn’t there. This had meaning for me, it brought me hope. All day that day, my wife and I drove through the neighborhood each time we left for or returned from an errand. We didn’t find him so we knew he had headed deeper into the forest, closer to safety. I have hope that one day I will see him again this winter having learned to function with three legs. It is the same type of hope that I have knowing I will see my loved ones again in heaven.
Another interesting aspect is that his buddy stayed with him the whole time on day one, into the night and I suspect throughout the night as they traveled into the wild. It made think of how Jesus is always with us in our time of need, when we are injured or broken beyond our understanding and ability to take care of ourselves. He is with us and we should be reassured of that. Perhaps this is the symbolism I want to see that in the relationship between these two deer and that’s ok with me. Also, three days later, his buddy came back through our yard. I do believe he was telling us that his buddy was making it. If I carry on my Jesus analogy it would be that life goes on in the company of Jesus.
I tried to relate this to my experience with Brian. I see it two ways. One is Brian being the broken buck and me being the buddy being near by yet not being able to help at all. Just being there, and reassuring him that he’s not alone. Second, I am the broken buck and my buddy is Jesus. In this case I am reassured that He can help and will escort me to safety where I can heal and become renewed. Either way, I learned something from these two wonderful animals and appreciate being able to spend some time with them.
This has been an impactful experience and I will continue to treasure the gifts the Lord has given us making sure I recognize them. Additionally, within my experiences of God’s creation, I will seek to understand the message the Lord is sending me if there is one. On most days I think I will just enjoy His creation and be a good steward as a contributing partner therein.
Brian was quite sensitive to nature and animals. I am learning.
Beautiful Blue Sky 