Follow the Leader

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were blessed to be able to take a week away from our work and family and cruise with another couple through the Western Caribbean. Two of our day excursions involved snorkeling around the island's barrier reefs where we were stopped for the day. It was my first time ever snorkeling, and my first try at it in Grand Cayman was difficult both physically and mentally, but it was during my second try off of Haiti when I figured it out. For those of you who are snorkeling naturals, I am probably preaching to the choir, but it was extremely cool to be able to see all the various coral designs and vegetation, not to mention all the various fish and crustacean species living throughout its expanse. Well, the boat that took us from the ship out to the reef could not pull right up on top of the area where we were to snorkel, so it had to anchor on a sandbar maybe a quarter of a mile away. Once all 35-40 people were geared up and in the water, our captain instructed us to follow him out to the reef and not to get ahead of him during the journey. The group was fairly calm and organized while following him out, as most folks kept their eyes on the captain while taking periodic looks beneath the surface to see what we were swimming past. However, when we reached our furthest point, and he instructed all snorkelers to begin working their way back to the boat, things got a bit crazy. Some folks had had all they wanted by this time, and attempted to go straight back towards the boat. Others were so caught up in what they were seeing beneath the surface that they swam in circles or erratic patterns, often bumping into others or the kayak positioned to keep folks out of the shallows. Still others, though, managed to steadily snorkel their way back to the boat at the same angle in which we had gone out, scanning the reef below while keeping an eye on the captain, and as a result, staying out of the shallows and off of the delicate reef.

Psalm 119:1-3 (Message)
You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.

Close Quarter Strutters

The 2013 spring turkey season proves itself to be more and more exciting each time I step in the woods. My buddy and I were back in one of our favorite spots, and after verifying that the entire flock of turkeys was roosted where we hoped, we slipped into a hardwood ridge amongst them, set up the decoy, and quietly eased down next to a tree. Not long after, the gobblers and jakes around us opened up (it must have been 8-10 of them), and they must have gobbled at least 200 times during that first hour of daylight. With all that commotion, it was hard to clearly determine where the mature birds were roosted in relation to the jakes. The gobbling became so intense that it was difficult to find a quiet enough moment to slide in a few yelps before getting overrun by the next set of gobbles. But with us being close to several male birds, it only took them hearing a few calls, and soon thereafter, they were pitching down and on their way to us. Based on their gobbles and roost location, I thought the approaching birds were jakes, so I chose not to reposition. When they showed up on the ridge to my right, though, their snowball heads, long beards and full strut pose told me quickly that I had messed up. Being out of position, I had to wait for them to work their way ever so slowly toward the decoy, and the lead bird eventually got in line with my gun barrel for a shot at about 12 yards. Upon harvesting that bird, the other one did not flush or run off; rather, he walked around the downed bird, pecked and clawed at him a bit, then hopped up on our decoy and attempt to breed it for 15 minutes or more right in front of us!

1 Kings 19:11-13 (NASB)
So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”