My Husband, Ian….In His Element….

I knew when I was only thirteen that hunting was important to my young-girl- crush, Ian.  At sixteen, I not only knew hunting was important to Ian, but I knew he was pretty caught up in the thrill of the hunt.  By eighteen, as a young woman, it was obvious to me that when Ian was in the woods, on the hunt....
                      he was in his element. 

 

As his wife of these past eighteen months, I have seen my husband lay aside his love of hunting to invest in our marriage and in our family.  No small gift from a man whose life has been enmeshed in all things out-of-doors.  Who lived, ate and breathed camouflage, weaponry and the thrill of the chase. 

So, when Todd, his friend in Christ and friend in life called Ian inviting him to go hunting, I was thrilled that he said “yes”.  For, I understand that while you can take the boy out of the woods, I also understand that if you do it for too long, you take away a part of that boy…and, I knew that it was this part of him that made me so in love with him…this manly, strong, brave hunter-man. 

When Ian called with his good news of the invite, I could hear the excitement in his voice as he asked my blessing on this weekend jaunt….it was without hesitation that I urged him to go… 

Go…hunt… 

Go….be a part of who God made you to be…one who loves sitting in the coolish early morning air, high off the ground in a deer stand, watching the sun rise and listening to the woods come to life…birds chirping, squirrels talking, deer wafting on the leaves.

And, he did.  

He excitedly dug out his well-packed hunting gear from numerous storage spots within our home, we made a trip to Wal-mart for the necessary hunting items and then made our way to Krogers to find Todd some Gluten-free bread…a gift of friendship in thanksgiving for this invite to the woods. 

Off he went, truck stored with all the requisites for a hunter expecting to not only track and glass deer, but for one who fully expected to kill and “bring it home” as well. 

I confess that I did text him a time or two or three….to see how he was doing, and he very sweetly and kindly responded, but I could tell that I was interrupting his “time with nature”…his “time with God”…so, I quickly learned to be quiet…. 

And then, it came….the message text to me… 

“Big Buck Down” 

Big Buck Down?   

I reply, “so, you killed a buck?”

His response, “yes, a BIG one”

Me, “how big?”

Him, “10 point” 

I don’t know a lot about hunting, but I do know that a ten point buck and a large one…is a GOOD thing…. 

Ian was thrilled….and, because this was important to him, it was important to me..

So, I thrilled along beside him…. 

When you are invited inside the joyful heart of a person, it is a precious gift.  Ian’s sharing this experience with me was a gift I will treasure always…he made me feel as if I were right there beside him on his hunting, sharing his thrill and joy and excitement. 

And, because he was thrilled and overjoyed and excited, I was as well.  And, so were all five of our kids.  Some celebrated in person, others via text encouragement.  All were a part of his great moment and I know it was precious to them that they were. 

The "at home" kids and I all met him at the door when he drove home, buck in the back of his truck and frankly, were amazed a his “kill”.  He had done well and we all grinned ear to ear with him. 

You see, Ian is a giver….a true, Godly giver.  He has given and given to us these past eighteen months in the type of giving which reaches deep into our souls and brings about healing…so, for us to be able to give back to him by celebrating with him was a precious experience.

We all met him outside….inspected the deer, photographed him with his deer, named the deer, felt the deer, questioned him about the deer, the hunt and then listened to Ian….in his element….as he described the hunt.

 

Family hunting moment.

Family sharing moment.

Family loving a man who gives so much to us and asks so little in return. 

That love returned by listening…and praising….and thrilling along with him. 

I rode with Ian as we took our buck to the meat packaging place and I confess, it was with great pride that my husband’s deer was the finest on the lot at that time. 

There’s a certain etiquette among hunters and it was neat to watch my husband in among his hunter/stranger turned hunter/friends.  Brothers of a kind…. 

Men young and old came by and checkout out Ian’s deer proclaiming it to be a “fine specimen” and expressing their admiration for his “score”.  Smiling now just thinking about their kind comments and gentlemanly behavior as they paid respect to a man who is obviously a fine hunter. 

Ian is that….in all areas of his life…. 

A gentleman

A hunter 

And, it has been a privilege and honor to share this first of our marriage hunting experience.  I pray that God bless us, as He has done so far, with many other opportunities to pay witness to not only God’s miracles of nature but to Ian’s life of humility and kindness and love. 

Our hunter-man, husband, Dad was in his element this weekend.

And, we were blessed to be witnesses. 

Blessed to be

Your wife,

Lesa