Part 1

Starting to think I should have named this blog “Above 30,000 Feet,” since that’s when these have been written lately. But I’m glad to be getting back into somewhat of a weekly writing routine here. And thanks for being here. The past couple of weeks have had much anticipated excitement with the reveal of my new horse trailer. I am glad to report living in it is even better than I thought it would be. Dutch thinks so, too, considering she has the entire fold-out couch to herself.

I’ve found out just how functional my storage is, though not everything is full. I like that everything has a place and rarely is that place the counter. It’s clean. Simple. Fresh. I am so blessed to wake up every day, living in one of the prayers I prayed through for years. In my last post I reminded you all that this isn’t a finish line; it’s the starting point. Receiving the trailer wasn’t a culmination, but rather a call. And I answered.

Saying yes to this call has already spilled over and opened up more opportunities to say yes to. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be pulling up camp in Arizona and heading to my first stop for the summer months. My employer, customers, and friends have embraced my living situation, offering me to stay with them, taking me places I never knew I’d go. Keep in mind that I didn’t have a confirmed place I was going to go with my trailer this summer until a month before it was completed. I kept answering with faith, both in prayers and in conversations, that though I didn’t know where I was going, God knows, and He will make a way.

I mentioned last week, between the completion of the Hart and the living quarters being put in, my dealer and friend, Angie Kokes, coordinated a way for us to pray with Tracy Hart over my trailer. I knew in my heart that He had to go before, and I couldn’t walk into this without Him going first.

There have been times in my life that God got me to a certain point, and I praised Him for that, but in my human-ness and pride, arrogantly told God, “I can take it from here.” Call it divine planning, but because there was so much unknown in the natural, I never had an opportunity to tell God I can take it from here. When we cultivate a heart of faith and dependence on God, I think it is easier to stay in step with Him, at least for me.

This morning at the airport, a gentleman complimented me on my hat, and we started talking ranching, farming, and hunting. Visions of my archery hunts in Montana flooded my memory: riding our horses up steep mountain trails in the trees, quietly peering between brush and tree limbs to see, and overlooking massive landscapes of Big Sky country. Elk leave clues to where they’ve been, but their elusiveness and instincts keep them hidden. And then, suddenly, they majestically reveal themselves, perhaps with a bugle or a call, but often just between the trees, when we are patient and quiet to pursue them.

One of my good friends had told me before I left on a hunt that your guide may be able to help lead you to the elk, but it’s up to you to put yourself in the best possible position to shoot. With archery, that confidence must happen well before the shooting opportunity presents itself because in the moment, there will be adrenaline and outside factors all working against the ability to connect the arrow with her target. You will have never been able to practice or run through exactly what the shot will look like or feel like until the opportunity is there. You can’t rush it but also can’t overthink the opportunity. You must be ready.

Jesus will lead you to where you’re called, but you must be obedient to the point of completion. When He prayed in John 17 His High Priestly Prayer, He acknowledged the timing of God:

Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son, that they Son may also glorify Thee John 17:1 KJV

He knew bearing the cross would be the most difficult thing He would ever do. And He knew that His followers would also endure hardships and persecution. Being all man and all God, He could see where the Father was leading Him. And the closer it got, the closer He drew near to God and the more fervently He prayed. He knew in approaching completion, He needed more of God to reveal Himself in Him and through Him to endure Calvary and save creation. And when He gave up His spirit, He knew it was complete.

Not every elk that you see in the wilderness gives an opportunity to shoot. Jesus was almost arrested several times before the night Judas betrayed Him. He knew scripture had to be fulfilled, and His miraculous works had to be done leading up to His call. He knew His timing. The timing of your call will present growth and counsel along the way. Because let me tell you my friend, our calling isn’t about us. It’s about Him.

Jesus knew His call required obedience, but also selflessness. He did the most selfless thing anyone has ever done. And then gave the promise of His Holy Spirit and power to His disciples after His resurrection. There is freedom and power when you obediently walk in your call, because you know who is leading you. When your guide is Jesus, He’s going to take you to the victory. But you have to trust He’s going to do it, through obedience, yes, but not by your own might or power.

An archery statistic I learned while hunting is 25% of archers get the opportunity to shoot. And then only 20% of those who connect complete the harvest. In the hunt, we pursue the elk, but the miracle is the harvest. I believe now more than ever, your calling in this life is imperative for the harvest. Your call is the miracle God will use. Your testimony is the walk of encounter someone needs to hear. And only those who have walked through it can help lead others to it.

Guiding elk isn’t something that someone just picks up. It takes years and time in the area to know habits, moving patterns, and ways of the elk. Sure, there’s some similarities in how elk live their lives, but the atmosphere in which they live impact behavior. Your own atmosphere of calling is unique to you. There could be someone doing something similar to you that you can learn from, but you’re still in different atmospheres unique to you. And many times, your own call to faith will challenge you differently than someone else and maybe look different. That’s what makes your call powerful, and beautiful—your own uniqueness. Only you have gotten to know Jesus in the place He has you. Only you have gotten to talk with Him about your own personal places and spaces that you encounter. You have something unique that no one else has that He has put in you, and once you are firmly rooted in His confidence and purity, then you can help lead others.

The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunter:  But the substance of a diligent man is precious. Proverbs 12:27

Friends, the Lord is going to bless you in your calling and your obedience. He’s going to take you through the trees, into the clearings, giving you opportunities to make shots for the harvest. But there’s also riches in the hunt, not just the harvest. The High Calling is always what we pursue, but the hunt keeps us pliable and reliant on the Lord. You’re in the atmosphere you have been placed in for a reason. There’s someone counting on you to be their guide when they can’t see the way from the wilderness. There’s someone counting on your testimony to give them hope in what only God can do. There’s power in your obedience and humility. And there’s a High Call that needs your response. I pray you have the power of pursuit this week, let Him lead you, and you experience the riches of the Hunt.

In part 2, I’ll share how God prepared me to become an archery hunter, and how he led me to my first shot at a bull elk. See you soon.