No Honey Bun, No Problem

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
Philippians 4:4

I turned 52 on the mountain a couple of weeks ago, chasing elk with a smoke pole as I have for the past several years. It was the best season I have had so far. It rained every day, and my boots' waterproofing decided to fail this year. We encountered a ton of deadfall we had to navigate and found ourselves in a place we aptly named the hell hole. I had two missed opportunities to shoot elk that were well within range, and they either winded us or just didn’t take the last step to clear the trees. Two mornings I forgot to pack my honey bun and V8 and was stuck with a bag of peanuts for mid-morning breakfast. Despite having wet feet all week, huddling under a tarp in the rain for hours, sore knees, aching back, wet powder, no honey bun, it was the best elk season ever.

I realized that we have no problem finding reasons to grumble and complain, and we really struggle with reasons to rejoice. We complain about the smallest of things such as enduring a little much-needed rain, the little aches and pains as we age that remind us we are alive, the traffic light that causes us to slow down when we are rushed, the leftovers we have for supper because we had more than we could eat the day before. We often complain and grumble because we didn’t get our way, and when we do so, we fail to see the good that comes from not getting our way. We are so eager to forfeit our opportunity to rejoice and eagerly exchange it for the ditch of grumbling in self-pity. Instead, we need to be reminded that we have an abundance of reasons to rejoice.

I rejoice that I had the opportunity to have wet boots, huddled under a tarp, exhausted after crawling over too much deadfall, honeybunless, in some of the prettiest country most people will never see, laughing with godly men. I rejoice in hearing the bugle of a bull in the timber. I rejoice in watching the aspen leaves change before my eyes. I rejoice in sore knees that still get me up the mountain. I rejoice and thank God for such opportunities because they are a blessing, and He has given me the ability and opportunity to experience them His way. But most of all, I rejoice in knowing my Savior, who is the reason to rejoice! What incredible gifts do we overlook when we default to grumbling rather than rejoicing? I encourage you to take some time and inventory the reasons you have to rejoice. I promise they will outnumber the reasons to complain.

PS. I would love to hear your reasons to rejoice. You can call, text, or email me. I would love to rejoice with you!