As I sat down to fill out the CBA yearly report, we really didn’t have much to report this year. However, we were fortunate enough to do three events. If we look back at previous years events or look around at the “Covid chaos” that still surrounds us, it could be a little discouraging, some may even ask us “why keep going?”
It didn’t take long for God to show me an answer to that question. He reminded me of something this archery season….
I have hunted at my parents place for a long time. We have always seen multiple deer and have harvested deer there every year. But this year was different. I hunted every Sunday afternoon from the beginning of archery season until buck season and didn’t see a doe the whole entire time.
Tim harvested a 7 point early season, a weekend or so later I hit a small buck, unfortunately a little high and too close to the shoulder, we didn’t find him that night. So, one evening sitting in the stand, I began to get a little frustrated. I couldn’t believe that we had not seen any other deer over there and had decided that the next weekend I’d probably just go somewhere else. Later a flock of turkeys came in and hung out behind my stand doing their turkey stuff for almost 40 minutes. They were jumping on logs, walking forward and backward, digging in leaves, and fighting with each other. Total turkey chaos! I knew I couldn’t shoot them because I was hunting over a bait pile, but I turned, looked over my shoulder and sat as still as I could to make sure that I didn’t alert them. A couple of the turkeys made it up to my stand but started getting real nervous the closer they got. I knew they didn’t see me, but something had them on alert. They eventually moved on, and it got too dark to shoot.
Tim was sitting a couple hundred yards down from me, so when we met up at the four wheeler he said, “what happened, did that 8 point see you move?” I was like, “I didn’t see an 8 point, I only saw a flock of chaotic turkeys!” He had seen an 8 point walk up the hill on the other side and come right to my stand like he was going to go to the feeder. Something alerted him and he slowly turned and walked in Tim’s direction.
I was too busy watching behind me that I missed out seeing him, but thankfully Tim did. Had I been looking forward instead of behind me, I would have seen him too. But, knowing there was another deer in the area that we hadn’t seen before, encouraged us to come back the next weekend and try one more time. Sure enough, the following weekend I sat all evening until a half hour before dark and a small buck showed up. I told God that I had hunted hard all season, and I didn’t mind if it wasn’t the 8 point; if I got the opportunity I was going to take the shot.
Luckily, I connected this time, and it was actually a 7 point. When we got it home and skinned it out, we found out that it was the deer that I had hit earlier in the season, because my broad head was still in his shoulder. So that was a total of only three bucks on my parent’s property.
I felt the Holy Spirit say, “You were encouraged to keep going back to hunt when you knew there was another deer in the area. So, just like AHA (Almost Heaven Archers), we may have only been able to do 3 events this year, but let me encourage you with this one verse:
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
God is still with us, and Jesus is still coming!! So that’s why we will continue to look forward and keep doing what God has called us to do.
So, this new year, let’s keep…. Aiming for a Higher Mark!!
By Kari Mihal, Chapter Chairman AHA, CBA Board Member
It didn’t take long for God to show me an answer to that question. He reminded me of something this archery season….
I have hunted at my parents place for a long time. We have always seen multiple deer and have harvested deer there every year. But this year was different. I hunted every Sunday afternoon from the beginning of archery season until buck season and didn’t see a doe the whole entire time.
Tim harvested a 7 point early season, a weekend or so later I hit a small buck, unfortunately a little high and too close to the shoulder, we didn’t find him that night. So, one evening sitting in the stand, I began to get a little frustrated. I couldn’t believe that we had not seen any other deer over there and had decided that the next weekend I’d probably just go somewhere else. Later a flock of turkeys came in and hung out behind my stand doing their turkey stuff for almost 40 minutes. They were jumping on logs, walking forward and backward, digging in leaves, and fighting with each other. Total turkey chaos! I knew I couldn’t shoot them because I was hunting over a bait pile, but I turned, looked over my shoulder and sat as still as I could to make sure that I didn’t alert them. A couple of the turkeys made it up to my stand but started getting real nervous the closer they got. I knew they didn’t see me, but something had them on alert. They eventually moved on, and it got too dark to shoot.
Tim was sitting a couple hundred yards down from me, so when we met up at the four wheeler he said, “what happened, did that 8 point see you move?” I was like, “I didn’t see an 8 point, I only saw a flock of chaotic turkeys!” He had seen an 8 point walk up the hill on the other side and come right to my stand like he was going to go to the feeder. Something alerted him and he slowly turned and walked in Tim’s direction.
I was too busy watching behind me that I missed out seeing him, but thankfully Tim did. Had I been looking forward instead of behind me, I would have seen him too. But, knowing there was another deer in the area that we hadn’t seen before, encouraged us to come back the next weekend and try one more time. Sure enough, the following weekend I sat all evening until a half hour before dark and a small buck showed up. I told God that I had hunted hard all season, and I didn’t mind if it wasn’t the 8 point; if I got the opportunity I was going to take the shot.
Luckily, I connected this time, and it was actually a 7 point. When we got it home and skinned it out, we found out that it was the deer that I had hit earlier in the season, because my broad head was still in his shoulder. So that was a total of only three bucks on my parent’s property.
I felt the Holy Spirit say, “You were encouraged to keep going back to hunt when you knew there was another deer in the area. So, just like AHA (Almost Heaven Archers), we may have only been able to do 3 events this year, but let me encourage you with this one verse:
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
God is still with us, and Jesus is still coming!! So that’s why we will continue to look forward and keep doing what God has called us to do.
So, this new year, let’s keep…. Aiming for a Higher Mark!!
By Kari Mihal, Chapter Chairman AHA, CBA Board Member
RSS Feed
