Deer Stretch

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

Deer are amazingly adaptive. For one thing, they are able to change their diets with the change in seasons. In winter, deer can digest woody vegetation from twigs and buds. During the warmer months they prefer a variety of grasses and seeds, leaves, fruits, nuts, etc. When hard pressed, they will even eat fungus and lichens to survive. On some of my hikes I’ve seen where they’ve taken huge bites out of various kinds of mushrooms.

There are a lot of plant-eating animals which can’t digest woody vegetation. The above pictured doe is reaching for some buds from trees which were not accessible before this snowfall. Even with all the snow under her feet, she is having to stretch for about all she’s worth to reach her prize.

Sometimes life can be like that. Perhaps you’ve noticed that things of true value can seem a bit out of reach at times.

Paul, the man who wrote the above Scripture, had been beaten, stoned, and imprisoned multiple times for his belief in Christ. Yet he didn’t shrink back from telling others about Jesus and how He’d gone to the cross to pay for their sins. Paul pressed on, straining for the final prize as he lived his life for Christ.

I hope that will encourage you today.

And I hope you have a really great day.