JANUARY 9, 2010

THE LEATHER POUCH

Scripture Reading-- Proverbs 4:20-27

Several years ago, I found a small leather pouch on my desk with a note that said, "Give this to me when I kill my first deer." It was signed by my son Tim who was not old enough to go hunting.

I put the pouch away, making a mental note to have it with me during Tim's first deer season. That season came in 2004. As we headed out on opening day, I secretly hung the pouch around my neck under my hunting clothes.

That was a tough deer season. In fact, we hunted in cold and rain. Over a period of several days, Tim and I sat approximately 18 hours together in a tree stand with no results. On the final day of the season, we went to our stand, knowing that we had to head home by 11 to go to a meeting where I was going to preach. I told Tim we would get down at 10:50.

Our morning was uneventful; we never saw hide or hoof of a deer. I kept quietly asking God to give Tim a chance. Does God answer prayers about deer hunting? Of course, He does. At 10:40, Tim whispered, "Dad, there's a deer."

I positioned Tim with my rifle, and he carefully took aim. The rifle cracked, and the deer leaped into the air and started to run. Moments later, we stood over the beautiful whitetail doe Tim had taken, just 10 minutes before our season ended.

As father and son, we paused to enjoy this thrilling moment. I unzipped my coat and unbuttoned my shirt. Tim was pleasantly surprised when I took off his leather pouch and hung it around his neck. Later, he put the casing from the bullet he shot inside the pouch. The casing was not only a personal treasure but also a reminder of a special experience a 12-year-old boy shared with his dad.

EXERCISE: Ask each family member to share a favorite memory of an experience with one of the parents.

--Tom Palmer--

READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN " 1 " YEAR: Genesis cc. 27-29