BLOOD TRAIL: April 2011

Sunday, April 24, 2011

EXAMPLES FROM THE GAULEY II

EXAMPLES FROM THE GAULEY II
The Gauley River has several colorfully and aptly named rapids such as Koontz's Flume, Canyon Doors, Upper and Lower Mash, Rocky Top, Heaven's Gate, Upper and Lower Staircase, Rollercoaster, Cliffside, Rattlesnake, and Roostertail. The last rapid of the trip on the Lower Gauley is a Class V called “Pure Screaming Hell” it’s a wild and strong run at the bottom of which are two holes. The smaller one called “Purgatory” (being good Baptists and not believing in purgatory) we ended up in the other one called “Hell Hole”. Believe me it is well named. Throughout the day we had come through some other big water with drops and holes and ledges. But this one is the biggest water on the lower river. Joshua, my son, and I were seated in the front of the raft and as the day progressed and we gained confidence the guide would put us into better and better parts of the river. When Josh and I would see a roller or a big drop we would give one last big pull with our paddles and pull the front of that tiny raft as deep as we could. But, when we got to Hell Hole and looked over the edge we …… didn’t. The raft went into the bottom of the hole at a steep angle. We hit bottom and “momentarily” leveled out. For the briefest of moments we settled into the foam until the water caught the raft and began to churn it like a washing machine. All of us went out including the guide. I was told that after we were flushed out of the hole our tiny raft was caught and tumbled end over end until it was finally spit out.
When I was tossed from the boat I found myself on my back under about six feet of churning river trying to orient myself and head to the surface. I’m a fairly experienced swimmer so I tried to get myself over on my stomach to swim to the surface but something wouldn’t let me. I tried stubbornly to get to the surface on my own becoming angrier and more frustrated the harder I tried. Something was thwarting my efforts to save myself. Finally, I remembered the safety instructions given by Kip back at the outfitters shop. The life vest is designed to turn an unconscious swimmer face up and float them to the surface. My struggling was only making my situation worse. I had to trust the vest. I had to surrender to its design and allow it to bring me to the safety of the surface.
Isn’t that a lot like the grace and mercy offered by God through Jesus Christ? It’s only when we recognize the graveness of our situation and surrender to the design of God’s grace that we are turned toward the Son and receive mercy. Ephesians 2:1-9

BLOOD TRAIL

Hunting is a great pastime activity. In today’s world, with a few exceptions hunting isn't among the skill sets necessary to acquire our food and clothing. We are accustomed to 40 hour work weeks and the availability of less labor intensive hunting areas such as Walmart, Krogers and Sears. It’s much easier to work a job and then spend your money at a department store than to invest many hours studying, patterning, hunting, killing and preparing wild game for a few pounds of meat ,a hide and a set of horns. To those who don’t hunt it may look like a huge waste of time. Those of us who hunt know the benefit of the activity. It’s outdoors, usually solitary, relaxing, and requires preparation, diligence and discipline. (Kinda like a job) For those of us who hunt the rewards of relaxation and enjoyment outweigh, for the most part, all the hard work involved. One of the most important skills you can learn is blood trailing. In the daylight it is a relatively straightforward task after you find the first drop of blood. Each drop tells us something new. It can tell us weather the animal is moving or standing, If it’s moving which direction and how fast. It can tell us weather we should pursue quickly or allow it to rest. At times we can tell where the animal is wounded. There is certainly a good amount of satisfaction in the work, but probably the most rewarding part of the hunt is the stories we can tell. The things you notice while hunting, a bird you haven’t seen before, the antics of a squirrel or a fawn, the moment of the kill and the labor of retrieving your harvest.

My last hunt involved some blood trailing in the dark. As is common, my shot at a buck came just before sunset. I didn't like the placement of the shot so I waited until I thought he had gone out of earshot and hastily looked for the first blood sign I could find and marked it. I left it and went home to have a little supper and to get adequate lighting to follow the trail. When I came back I was able to quickly find the white tissue paper I had tied on a limb above the first drop of blood. Four hours and five hundred yards later I was privileged to retrieve the animal I had harvested.

I don’t want to bore you with all the details of a four hour tracking job but I do want to point out some interesting parallels to our Christian walk.

* Its important to pursue as quickly as possible. We must follow the trail with diligence unless we loose our harvest to other predators or scavengers. (2 Peter 1:10)

* What we see in the woods at night is completely different from what we are used to seeing during the day. The subtle yellows, greens and browns we see during the day becomes nearly monochromatic at night.

* The human eye is naturally drawn to the color red.

* At night there are different types of light, close in as from a gas lantern or a campfire, focused light as from a flashlight and the bluish white light of the moon on a really clear night. (Mat 5:14-16)

* Sometimes you will find yourself searching for the next drop of blood on your hands and knees.

* As you turn leaves over looking for the slightest trace of blood you may see a spot of red on the middle of a leaf. When you inspect more closely you discover it is a false drop. Maple leaves and others naturally have spots of red. I call them false drops. After a while you learn to recognize the difference between the real blood and the false trail randomly spread by the wind. (1 John 4:1)

* The real thing has the shine of authenticity. The more you see the real thing it becomes easier to recognize.

* Sometimes the trail is hidden by the forces of nature, rain, wind or animals. Even our own big feet can obliterate a blood trail. (Mark 4:4)

* At times you will loose the trail. At that point go back to the last drop of blood you found and begin searching in widening circles until you pick up the trail again.( Acts 17:27)

* Each step on the trail brings us closer to our harvest. (Philippians 3:14)

* Sometimes we need to go back to where we began and start the trailing process again from the beginning. We must ask ourselves questions about the important details. Was my shot really on the mark? Did I miss completely? Was the blood trail I was on actually real or was I fooled by the vagaries of nature? Once we assess where things truly stand we can either continue on the trail or begin the hunt again. (2 Cor. 13:2)