Few know my entry into outdoor media and writing. While my industry influence isn’t as
extensive as some, my love of the field still runs deep. Many have heard that it all started with
one picture of one dog – “Doc.” Since, there have been hundreds of pictures; mostly of the
same dog. There is good reason for that, just as it is good reason he has commanded the field
in retrieving from blind to blind.

Last month on an equipment exchange, my good friend Barry (Doc’s owner) told me Doc had
developed blasto. It’s a terrible disease, and if you own a gun dog you need to know what it is
and what the warning signs are. Unprepared and uneducated, you might find yourself in a
heartbroken and irreversible place. To advance the story, the disease made a decision
necessary to remove one of my furry friend’s eyes. Since, thankfully, Doc is recovering well.
The reason I recount this tale is that it is; 1) very close and real to me 2) it makes me pause and
address tough issues in life. Maybe it’s a close companion, maybe a family member, maybe a
physical need in life. When Jesus spoke in parable regarding building the house on the rock
(Matthew 7), he never insinuated that the rain and the storms might strike. No, they came and
the storms of life will come.

The book of Job is another great example of suffering. Job, whose entire business empire,
family, and health was struck, experienced tremendous suffering and pain. Many have been
here. Searing loss for many is fresh, and easily recalled on. While Job experienced restoration
at the end of the story, there was a point at which all he could do was rely on God’s
sovereignty. Just as God is sovereign over the cosmos – so he is over each of our lives. This is
where we land sometimes, in the storm – often with a lot of questions and uncertainty, but not
without hope.

By nature, the fowler is a planner; meticulous and attentive to detail. Blinds, spreads, camo,
shot patterns, wind direction, and etc. are all things we try to plan for and anticipate the best.
Often, as with life situations, we are not left with the best but with loss. Like the metaphorical
storm in the passage of Matthew 7, we find ourselves in the storm. Like the man in the
parable, and like Job, we can only be driven to God’s sovereignty and the promise of Christ; our
rock. Sometimes, when the storm hits we find ourselves feeling quite hopeless. All of our
planning and all of our anticipation is left in ruin. Life feels like it is out of control. Like Job, we
have to remember that there is only one who is in control; God. He is not only in control, but
knows our need and desires to remind us of the hope we have in him. While I am very thankful
my buddy Doc is on the mend, I am reminded to consider where I place my hope. A man might
not build a duckblind on a rock, but I pray that everyone would place their life on the rock,
Jesus Christ.

- Jonathan Brazell

Endless Days...

by: Jonathan Brazell

It’s hard to explain the world of sunrises and sunsets through our eyes.  It’s something that is experienced more than it can be detailed out in conversation.  Mornings are savored in the blind, after setting decoys, over steaming coffee. We strain and listen to the dark ghosts in the pre-dawn light whistle by, in anticipation that can’t be weighed on any scale.  The afternoons are not to be slighted though; the sun slipping away with neon skies. The feed ducks pouring in after shooting light – vivid, vocal, and almost magical leaving us to wish away the hours to the next hunt.

Days begin to blur together; from gas station stops to fighting ice and the freeze.  Before you know it, you’ve found yourself on the last adventure of the season. It doesn’t seem real.  All of the hours, all of the preparation, all of the laughs, and all of the moments teeter on the brink of the clock counting down.  Season has come, and it has now gone. I read a lot of posts, and I sympathize with so many in soft denial that this season we love is now over.  It’s almost an eerie feeling, like being in an old empty duck blind. You can see the memories, feel them, but cannot return to them until the fall.  We all seek that fulfilling joy in the field, but are challenged when season is gone.

“We’ve been given sixty days – to help point us to endless days.”

There are many things in the field and life that transition in seasons.  It is so by the design of the Creator – “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” (Proverbs 3:1) This is fitting too, that we can only find temporary satisfaction in temporal things.  These temporary things are not a waste though. Stewarding creation, in these seasons, is a mandate that was put in place by God – that we would experience the Creator’s glory in his creation. The temporal pointing us to the eternal.

There is a great truth here.  It is a truth that overwhelms the emptiness with fullness in joy and hope.  The reason that we are left longing for more is that there is something so much more to be anticipated – eternity in heaven with Christ.  It is a joy that will be unending to which there is no season.God has granted us the seasons; the waterfowler – this harvest time.  He has done so, that we would not only find joy in his creation, but more-so that we would long for the eternal joy in the Creator.  We’ve been given sixty days – to help point us to endless days.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart…” (Proverbs 3:11)  

- Jonathan Brazell

Day 60

It’s Day 60. The days leading up to now have been hard worked, tiring, filled with friends, ducks, and laughter. Any season and any pursuit is a process that yields humbling moments, treks through waters of difficulty, and embrace of the success of what we are aiming to harvest. This is a day that is bittersweet to our waterfowl friends. It is a humbling gift to be able to look back and reflect on these past 60 days to cherish & examine what all was experienced. No matter how prepared we may be for the upcoming season, it never fails that God can do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). We long for you to not just experience waterfowl season, but to experience God as he works & furthers his kingdom in the waterfowling community. Seasons come and go and It is said that nothing good lasts forever. We are reminded that even though seasons will change, God remains the same (Hebrews 13:8). Duck populations fluctuate, flyways shift, hunting buddies come and they go, days able to hunt differ from year to year; change is a constant and so is God for he is the administrator of all things. Looking back over the last 60 days I’ve seen both hearts and duck straps full. I’ve seen smiles that have grinned from ear to ear and memories made that will last a life time. So here is to reflecting on this past season, and embracing the anticipation for the season to come. 

A word from the MTAC family