I will lift up my eyes to the hills–from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore. Psalm 121
Often when I see a bear in the wild, it is just a blur of fur racing through the brush or crossing an old road or trail. This bear sighting turned out to be a bit of an unusual and interesting event.
My wife and I, along with Cosmos the Wonderdog, were coming to the end of a five-mile hike through the mountains when we heard some thrashing around in a nearby bog. As we stopped and looked across the swamp, this bear emerged on the other side, stopped, turned around, and looked about. We had apparently startled it, and it wasn’t sure where we were. The breeze was carrying our scent from left to right, away from the bear. It may not have even known what we were.
Some sources state that a black bear’s eyesight is similar to that of humans. Others say that their eyesight is very good at close range, but diminishes at farther distances. This bear didn’t seem to see us, even though it was looking right at us as I lifted my camera. I took pictures from about forty yards away, and the bear did not appear to notice.
The black bear’s hearing is estimated to be about twice as good as that of humans. But it is their ability to notice scent which really helps the bear the most. Some estimate a bear’s sense of smell to be about one hundred times greater than that of a human. They have been known to scent food from over a mile away!
When we saw this particular bear, we remained silent, and, except for lifting my camera, relatively motionless. After a few minutes, it apparently decided it was not in any danger. It looked around, appearing to be a bit sleepy. It was a very hot day, and before long the bear proceeded to flop over and take a nap!
I don’t remember seeing anything quite like that in the wild before, and I don’t reckon I’ll soon forget this experience.
The above Scripture speaks of God not only being our help, but also not being One to sleep or slumber as He looks after us. And as many predicaments as I seem to get myself in, for that I’m most grateful.
If you are not sure how to have a personal relationship with the God of the universe, I encourage you to check out Got God?
I hope you have a great day.