Racing The Deer

Every spring I face the challenge of racing the deer that live in the woods nearby. If I win, I get to enjoy the colorful tulips in my yard. If they win…no tulip blooms.

I’m sure the deer stop by ever dawn to see how the tulips are coming. If I think, “Tomorrow they should open,” I can be guaranteed the tender bloom will be gone, with just a stark stalk standing to show where the bloom should be.

Many of the solutions offered don’t seem to work, but there is one that does: surrounding them with a liberal sprinkling of bloodmeal. There’s one problem. I can’t stand the smell of bloodmeal. Being anywhere near it literally makes me sick to my stomach. So I put it off as long as possible, and sometimes find the deer have won the race to one or more of my tulips.

I have a choice. I can do the hard thing to save my tulips, or I can let the deer have them. The other day it hit me that I have a similar problem in letting the blood of Jesus protect me. Sometimes it takes too much effort to surround my heart with a focus on God’s saving grace, and the enemy sneaks in and messes with it. I have to keep reminding myself that if I have courage to do something unpleasant to keep deer away from my tulips, I certainly need to be unrelenting in surrounding myself with the blood of Jesus so he can keep the enemy from destroying me. The race is worth it!

Jenn Avey

Jenn serves as the executive director of Charis Women. An avid Bible student and teacher, she loves opening God’s word with other women.

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Watching Hope Die