Crushed

Crushed
by Brodie Swisher

The bittersweet task of pulling treestands and ground blinds at the end of deer hunting season has come once again. I took my 4-year-old boy, Easton, out with me recently as we headed to the field to take down a Double Bull blind from one of my favorite early season
sets. The blind was situated in the midst of a fallen treetop in the middle of a huge apple orchard. Death had struck plenty of times from this location in the past, including three different hunts with each of my kids over the past season. It was a great year!

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But as Easton and I approached the scene, we noticed the blind was no longer standing. At first glance it appeared to be gone completely. But after further investigation we realized that the blind was in fact there, it had just been reduced to a broken mess on the ground floor. Between the recent snow storms and a few overly-curious horses, our ground blind had been crushed. Easton’s eyes showed a look of concern. I could only grin as I thought about the good times we had experienced in the blind over the past several seasons. Sure, the blind was now in ruins. But it was worth it to be a part of what we were able to experience while in pursuit of whitetail deer. The blind was crushed, but the memories of our times there would last forever.

You know, the ironic thing about brokenness is that it often signifies the goodness of something that has transpired, or the blessing of something on the horizon. Material things become broken by the use and abuse we put them through. But it’s often in the brokenness of life, spiritually, emotionally, that we discover a hope never before imagined. I thank God for the brokenness of His Son, Jesus. His story gives me a hope for the better days that are sure to come. Because of the brokenness He endured, we can truly live.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

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