Glassing Life’s Mountains and Seeing New Things
Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie
copyright March 2019
“We need to go to the ranch this weekend and look for mule deer to get a head count of how many does and bucks we can find,” my husband said in early January.
“I’ll get things packed and be ready,” I stated, as I begin to think of all the things I needed to do.
We have a hunting business and lease a ranch in west Texas, and Stephen needed to spend some time out there, when things were not busy, viewing the wildlife.
I packed my computer, my “to do list,” hunting clothes, some things to read, to entertain myself on the long drive. I saw this weekend as a fun time alone with my man and a time to catch up on some writing.
Little did I know, Stephen had a different idea of that weekend…
We arrived at the ranch around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and my husband began to give me instructions.
“Kathleen, your binoculars are in the back seat and I want you to document details of all the animals we locate, and where we find them,” he said.
I quickly realized that this would be a different trip than I expected, and thought of tossing my “to do” list, out the window. I was not real sure how much I could help him, but I was willing to try.
I love the west Texas desert, the vastness of the landscape, and the hidden beauty I’ve discovered in this rugged land.
We arrived at the first mountain on the ranch and Stephen parked the truck. He handed me some very high powered binoculars and told me on how to glass a mountain. He said to slowly survey the land, pay attention to anything that moved or looked different.
I looked at the big mountain and it looked pretty barren. All I saw were cactus, rocks and a lot of brown dirt.
Suddenly, my husband grabbed his spotting scope to get a closer look at a buck that was chasing several doe. Stephen told me that you first look at the mountain, then take a look with binoculars, and when you see something, you view it with the spotting scope, to get the fine details. As I took a closer look at the mountain, I quickly saw a nice seven point buck and three doe close to him. That deer looked like the king of the mountain with his haram close by. I began to jot down all the information to keep good records of what we saw, where we saw it and we then we took pictures through the scope.
We left that pasture and went to another mountain and I tried to practice what I had just learned. Again, I looked with my naked eye and saw a barren mountain. I began to look at the right side of the mountain with my binoculars and Stephen looked at the left side.
I finally spotted something. I saw a nice ten point buck, sitting in the sun and stretching his neck, up and down. Stephen set up the scope and began to look and he found eight doe in the close vicinity. Again, I took detailed notes to document the trip.
Glassing the mountain was a lot of work, however, it was a lot more fun than I anticipated and I love learning new things. Although I’ve been to this ranch each year for the last six years, I had never discovered the beauty in the fine details, like I was seeing on this trip.
Sometimes when I see something in life and it looks disappointing or like a negative, I ask God to show me how He sees a situation. He always has a better vision of things than I do.
Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (KJV)
I have discovered that God’s perspective of my life and challenges, is often very different than mine. When we seek Him and take a closer look, we can see the beauty in our difficulties, just like I was seeing when I took a closer look at the mountain.
Isaiah 55:8-9 is one of my favorite passages. It says, ““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (NIV)
David, in the book of Psalms, committed adultery and murder, yet God saw him as a man after there heart of God. David was not perfect, but he loved God, sought Him, and repented of his transgressions.
Gideon was scared and hiding under a bush, and yet God called him a mighty warrior.
God’s perspective and viewpoint is so much better than ours, which is why each of us should go to Him, to help us see things correctly. His lens is just like that spotting scope, seeing our potential and the beauty in our challenges, not just the rocks and barrenness , in our lives.
My husband and I continued to go to numerous pastures on the ranch, glassing the terrain. As we drove and I found more beauty than I ever imagined, I began to think of how different things would look in my life, if I took a closer look at my mountains or challenges, with a different lens, like I was seeing with the binoculars and spotting scope. God was speaking to me and I knew I needed to pay close attention.
At the end of the day, I was amazed at all the animals that were hidden in the hills. We saw many aoudads, hogs and javelinas, a huge 6 x 6 elk, numerous mature 10-12 point mule deer, yearlings, coyotes, foxes, a bobcat, as well as hawks, dove and quail.
I did not accomplish what I thought I would that weekend, however, I learned so much more about taking a closer look at people, situations in life, and how to glass a mountain. I saw beauty that I had never seen and enjoyed spending quality time with my husband.
I encourage you to take a closer look at your challenges, the mountains in your life, difficult people and ask God to help you see them through the right lens. I have no doubt, God will show you the many treasures that are in your landscape.
Kathleen is a native of the Hill Country and is passionate about helping people discover their value and worth. Contact her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.com or visit her blog on www.themaxwellminutes.blogspot.com
