Blood Trails

Blood Trails
by Brodie Swisher

Just moments after making a lethal shot on a deer the other day, I
found myself physically shaken.  My right knee was knockin’ uncontrollably!  I
sat back down in my treestand in attempts of letting my nerves, and heart,
settle down a bit.  It was just another deer!  Not the biggest buck I’d ever
shot, nor the smallest.  It was just another deer that had met my arrow….and nearly every part of my body was overwhelmed with adrenaline.  And I guess that’s why I do it.  For those intense encounters when it all comes together, and I’m left with almost more than my body can handle.  

Nearly as tough on the mind and body is the waiting game prior to searching
out the bloodtrail.  I often pull out the small Bible in my pack, a book, or
shoot some messages out on my cell phone to help pass the time while I wait. 
But it never works.  My mind is on one thing.  Following that bloodtrail!

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I’m continuously intrigued by the fact of how something so gruesome, the blood, the death, the finality, can bring so much excitement and passion to the hunter. It’s what we live for! 

But you know, many years ago, there was a bloodtrail that followed a man that carried a cross.  Much to the excitement of others, he was beaten beyond
recognition and forced to drag a wooden cross toward a hill where he’d
ultimately face death.  I often think about that bloodtrail that was left behind
by that man…a man named Jesus.  It too must have been gory, graphic, and
gruesome.  Amazingly enough, I’m excited when at the end of that bloodtrail I
find a slain lamb…the Savior of the world!  The horrific death and finality of
Jesus’ life on that cross ultimately brings life.  His death and resurrection
bring a new excitement and passion for the bloodtrail that paved the way.  It’s
truly what we live for!  

I hope with every bloodtrail you encounter, you think of Jesus.  I pray that
with every crimson arrow you place back in the quiver, you think of God’s Son
that was sacrificed on the cross for you and me.   

“….and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”  1 John
1:7b

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