One Shot

One Shot
by Brodie Swisher

I love to shoot arrows at the targets in my yard. I find great joy in watching the simple flight of an arrow. While some spend big dollars on therapy, I find mine in the backyard, unwinding at the end of a long day, flingin’ arrows. For much of the year, my shooting regimen involves thoughtless shots at targets scattered around our yard and pasture. I shoot until my quiver is empty, go retrieve my arrows, and repeat the process. However, as hunting season draws near, everything changes. I go into somewhat of a routine that involves just one shot. With my bow in my hand, I step out on the deck and shoot one arrow. Just one. No second shots, no do-overs. Just one arrow. It is a mental game and practice for the real deal. As is most often the case, you get one shot when the moment of truth arrives on big game. It’s a fleeting moment. As quick as it seems to be happening…it’s over. Those breathtaking moments at full draw are what keep me in the hunt. A thousand times each season I wonder, “Will I make the most of the one shot I get?”

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I often wonder the same thing about the opportunity I have with my kids. I love being a daddy. It’s without a doubt one of my greatest joys in life. I treasure the moments I have with each one of my three kids on this earth and anxiously look forward to the time I’ll have with my little boy that went to heaven ahead of us. But I often find myself wondering, “Am I making the most of the one shot I get with them? Am I a living legacy of the kind of life that God would have them to live?” You see, we get just one shot with our kids. It’s a fleeting moment. The years come…and quickly go. Are we training them to follow the ways of the world, or are we equipping them to live a Godly life that will bring glory and honor to our great God? I don’t want to find myself, many years from now, with a pile of regrets and wishing for a second chance with my kids, my wife, a friend, or family member. We get just one shot. Will we make the most of the one shot we get?

“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Proverbs 22:6

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