Consider the Lilies

Last fall, I got a phone call I will never forget.

My great friend Chad Hymas called to connect me with the new owner of his father's elk ranch, Royal Rut. His name is Brandon Clawson, and Brandon had an offer that felt less like an offer and more like a gift. He wanted to give me the opportunity to hunt a bull elk on his property the following week.

I moved a few things on my calendar and said yes.

But here is what I loved most about it. Brandon was not just handing out a hunt. He was looking for a way to be part of Operation Conquer Hunger in a way only he could uniquely contribute. He gifted me the hunt with the hope and the expectation that the meat harvested would go to families in need. Just like that, the hunt took on new and higher meaning, to me, to Brandon, and ultimately to the families who would receive it.

Be Watchful. Be Present.

Just a couple hours from my home, I found myself in some incredibly steep country with my good friend and coworker Collin, along with the amazing team at Royal Rut. These guys and gals truly know how to take care of their clients. They treated us with the kind of service you would hope every organization would adopt.

After making sure my rifle was sighted in, we were off. The country was steep. We had a few thousand acres to hunt and very little time to find a bull. After glassing one canyon, we were about to move on to another when, literally out of the corner of my eye, with my naked eye, I caught something move for a split second. I got my binoculars up just in the nick of time to see the back end of an elk slipping into the thick trees. He tipped his head back for just a moment, enough to flash an antler and enough for me to know it was a bull.

From a thousand yards away.

The timing was critical. If I had not seen him in that split second, we would have moved on and probably never known he was there. What a blessing.

Hunting has a way of teaching lessons that reach far beyond the mountain. I have learned to always be watchful and present. The same is true of opportunities in life. We need to be vigilant, aware of our surroundings, and sensitive enough to respond to what is placed out before us. Most of the blessings I have seen in my life did not walk up and knock on the door. They flashed for a second in the corner of my eye, and I only caught them because I happened to be looking.

The Wait, and the Shot

We sat, and we waited. Any hunter knows time and daylight are never really on your side. It was closing in on evening. We knew where he was. We just had to wait and see if he would move out.

And he did.

He worked his way down the mountain not knowing we were sitting across the canyon on the other side. We set up and waited patiently. As he stepped out, the wind moved in, in our favor but fierce. The shot would be far, seven hundred plus yards. As he came into a clearing, I took a shot that went just over him. I made adjustments, set up again, and at right around 730 yards I landed a fatal shot that slowed him down and gave me the second shot that put him down.

When I walked up on that bull, I could not believe my eyes. The size of him. The thickness of his antlers. The beauty of that animal. And right there on the mountain, I felt an immense sense of gratitude, for the life that gives life, and especially for the life-sustaining sustenance this animal would give to multiple families.

I was incredibly blessed to be part of harvesting such a beautiful creature. But then came the part where the rubber really hit the road. Delivering the meat.

Aren't We All Beggars?

I pondered on the three families this meat was going to. Their circumstances at that moment. I remembered my own family's times of struggle, our hours and days and years of need. I remembered the people who came to our aid, some we knew, and some who just knew we needed help and in their own quiet, unique ways came to bless us.

There are times in life when we are the receiver, and times when we are the giver. Sometimes we are both. But we all find ourselves on one side of that equation throughout life.

In the end, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend on the same Being, even God, for all our substance?

"For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have?" (Mosiah 4:19)

When all is said and done, there are not the haves and the have nots. We are all children of God. We are all on this journey of life together. Right now, in this moment, there are those who find themselves in more difficult circumstances than others. It is important that we live with eyes to see the need. When you have had the need, it is easier to see, because of the perspective gained through experience. I believe once you have gained that perspective, you have a stewardship and a responsibility to use that wisdom to love and serve the person you once were.

Known by Name

I had met one of the families at another event, right before Christmas, where families were receiving donated gifts to help make the holiday a little brighter for their kids. We were blessed to know this family, and when I offered them some meat a few months later, they were so excited.

I pulled up to the house, and they greeted me with joy on their faces. One of the teenage boys walked out to help load in the meat. And the moment I saw him, his name came to me. I said, "Aren't you..." and I said his name. He beamed. This was six months after we had only briefly met. I heard his dad say, "Wow, so cool you remembered his name."

Honestly, that was completely God: Him bringing that boy's name back to my remembrance. But it made things personal. And God helped that young man feel seen and recognized. That moment became a highlight of the whole experience. It made me keenly aware of God's involvement in our lives, in the giver and in the receiver, in what all His children need. He is in the very personal details.

I then leaned on a good friend, Kellee, to help us distribute the remaining meat to two other families. She called me about a week later and told me one of the mothers, a single, widowed mom, had called her in tears. She was overwhelmed. She told Kellee they were going to save a good portion of the meat for their Christmas dinner this year, that she could not wait to cook it for that special meal.

Wow.

My eyes sprung a leak. Think of how much we take for granted at times. To have meat in the freezer. To save some up for those special moments. To make the blessing last as long as possible. It makes me want to go shower that single mother with more.

Consider the Lilies

I recently was pointed back to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matthew 6:28-30)

I stop and think about what this really means.

To consider means to stop and pay attention. To ponder. To think about. Think about what? That God takes care of the lilies of the field. They too are His creation. He tells us to consider that they toil not, and yet He clothes them. And if He so blesses them, why would He not bless, take care of, and love His greatest creation, His children? He does. And I would challenge us to consider that.

Consider all He does and all He provides. Consider how often He provides it through another one of His children. We are to bless, serve, love, and support each other.

Consider how we might do that for one another. Consider whether we are watching for those opportunities. Consider the blessings we have to share. Consider who we might share them with. Consider asking God for help to know, and then watch as He considers us so well that His plans start to unfold right in front of our eyes.

Just Do It

I read a scripture this morning that says, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." (John 13:17)

That is the next step. Just do what we believe and know to be right and true.

Just act. Just bless. Just love. Just give.

That is the way of the conquerors.

To Brandon and the whole team at Royal Rut, thank you for turning a hunt into a ministry. To Collin, thank you for grinding up that mountain with me. To Kellee, thank you for helping this meat find the right doorsteps. And to those three families, thank you for the perspective. You blessed me a lot more than any elk ever could.

God bless.

Keep Conquering.

Trevor Farnes
Founder | MTN OPS