The Barbed Wire Bird

Every year I am blessed to be invited to hunt quail and pheasant with friends in Kansas. For over fifteen years I have spent a week in the fields near Abbeyville and eating at Carolyn's Esterhaus in Arlington. Family members say that I really only use the hunting as an excuse to go and eat in that wonderful Amish restaurant. I suspect they are on to something.
Over the years I have had many wonderful experiences in the fields around Abbeyville and Arlington. But probably none have been as amazing as this year.
On the first morning in the first field we hunted we had one of those once every ten years hunt. Every few yards we found birds and more birds. The dogs had some great points and it was one of those magical mornings that keep us all coming back.
We reached the far back corner of the field and gathered to collect ourselves before starting down the other side. I was standing with two friends near an old fence line laughing and talking about points and shots when I noticed that there was a large coil of old barbed wire leaning against a post (one of those limestone posts that mark a lot of the territory there). Suddenly the ground near me began to shake. There was a loud rustling noise and that coil of barbed wire began to vibrate.
There, right beneath my feet, and beside my leg, a cock pheasant was attempting to fly up and out of that coil of wire!! I guess he must have run out ahead of us and ducked into what he thought was a safe haven. With us standing there talking he finally got so nervous he had to fly.
I watched in awe as he bounced from one side of the coil to the other in the attempt to escape. Finally he cleared the top of the coil and with a laughing cry began to fly away.
I came to my senses and realized that I was the only person with a shot at the bird. In a panic I threw up my shotgun and fired two absolutely off mark shots. Above the laughter of my friends the cock offered up one more cawing cry and was out of range.
I spent the rest of the trip listening to friends tell everyone at the restaurant and anyone else who would listen about that barbed wire pheasant and my pitiful reaction and shots. I've spent a lot of time since then thinking about what happened.
Now I have missed a lot of shots in my life, probably missed more shots than I have made. But that was a perfect chance, one almost no one can miss. But I did. Why?
I think I have a pretty clear understanding of what happened. I was so surprised that I lost focus on what was happening around me. I was in Kansas to hunt. I was in that field specifically to shoot at cock pheasants. That was my purpose.
But I got interested in watching the bird try and escape the wire. I watched him bounce around inside. And in all of that I forgot what I was in the field to do. So I missed the easy shot.
I wonder how many people in our land today are losing focus in their lives and missing great opportunities? You know, I don't own any stock except that held by my pension account and I'm not within years of retiring, so why am I so concerning about the current up and downs of the market? I don't own a GMC automobile and haven't for years, so why am I so concerned about the future of that company. I paid 20% down on my home and am blessed to be able to make my payments on time each month, so why am I so concerned about the banks who loaned money to people on 100% of the value and the home and whose income wouldn't support the payments? You see, I'm often focused on the wrong things.
This morning I had the opportunity to refocus. One of our members leaves for seminary next week. I have been really excited for her and believe she will become a wonderful minister. I have helped her get scholarships and aid to make school possible as she doesn't have a great income or resources. I, like others in the church, was worried about her car.
She has a car that had a rusting frame and an engine that was not in very good shape. We had been looking for a way to get her car fixed enough for her to be able to depend on it. We weren't having much success.
Then one of the people who attends our church, but isn't a member, called with an amazing offer. This lady and her family own a used car lot. They offered to give our student a new car free and clear to make her seminary experience possible. WOW!!!
This morning we surprised our student with the keys to a new car and also sold her old one and paid it off free and clear. There were a lot of tears.
The lady who gave the car away said these words, "I remembered that when times are tough we need to focus on how we can help one another. I can't do a lot, but I do have cars that are paid for and I can give one away."
Focus on helping one another. You know, if we all could take that focus in our daily lives, then this economic blip would quickly pass away and without near the pain that it will have if we don't keep our focus on what is truly important.
Every time I think about that barbed wire pheasant, I stop and tell myself to regain my focus, on helping other people.
I hope you will do the same.

Bill