And Then There Were Eight

"And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and service him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever."

1 Chronicles 28:9

And here they come to enjoy green grass, eating corn and relaxing in the quiet field. 

I love to tell this story. I've shared it before on this blog, and it always makes me smile, reminding me that God loves to give us the desires of our heart. No matter how small a request or insignificant it may seem, God hears all and responds. This is one of those times.

My friends know how much I love photographing deer. From late spring to early fall I'm out the door between 5 and 6 a.m. to drive around and find deer. I love to slowly come up on a scene with doe and fawn. And I've been happily surprised a few times finding a big buck.




But nothing compares to the request I made to God one November. I asked him if He'd provide me opportunities to snap buck. I hadn't seen very many at that time, and had many pictures of doe and fawn. So I made my request to Him.

The prayer was soon forgotten and the new year came. Before I knew it spring was here, and I started my early morning adventures.

It was early in July, and I was looking out the kitchen window. There were woods behind the house in Mt. Airy and we'd been feeding deer for several years by then. Our neighbor had started a few years before us and we picked up and decided to put corn out at the back gate.

I always enjoyed looking out the kitchen window in the morning before I left for work. I'd usually always see doe, and during fawn season it was fun to watch them. I remember one time there were two doe and two fawn. I watched as one doe and both fawns walked to one side of the meadow. All at once the two fawn came running to the other side where the other doe waited. After a few minutes the two fawn ran back to the other doe. They did this several times, and I laughed, deciding the doe were teaching the fawn something.

"Make that possible for me which is impossible by nature."

Thomas A. Kempis (c. 1380-1471)

One morning in early July, I saw buck walking up to the back gate. We'd seen a few buck here and there, but few and far between. Before I knew it eight buck walked to the back gate. I called for Jerry and we so enjoyed seeing them--all sizes, small, medium and large buck with full antlers!

That wondrous scene repeated itself every morning and evening from July to October! Every morning and evening! It wasn't until August that I remembered my prayer. You can imagine the goosebumps!

I took many pictures of buck that summer. What a thrill it was to watch those majestic animals in relax mode, enjoying a few bites to eat and then wandering back to the woods.

Well fed and satisfied, our buck head for the woods. What a summer!

"The best thing is to go from nature's God down to nature; and if you once get to nature's God, and believe him, and love him, it is surprising how easy it is to hear music in the waves, and songs in the wild whisperings of the winds; to see God everywhere in the stones, in the rocks, in the rippling brooks, and hear him everywhere, in the lowing of cattle, in the rolling of thunder, and in the fury of tempests.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)