Overlooked

Overlooked
by Brodie Swisher

There were two days left of bow season in Montana when I arrived back from an archery trade show in Ohio. With one lonely doe tag left in my pocket I made plans to put the final wraps on what has already been a great deer hunting season. After a late night and a lazy start when the alarm went off, I was running behind. I scrambled to grab my gear and shuffled into my cold weather clothes for a chilly morning on the stand. I grabbed an armload of gear, including my video camera, a book, jacket, and pack and hurried out the door. The darkness of night was already leaving the valley as I made the quick drive to my hunting spot. As I got out of the truck I quickly put my treestand safety harness on and began to my pull other gear from the truck. It was a routine I had become familiar with after four months of persistent bowhunting. With my pack on my back and all my gear in place, I leaned back into the truck to grab my bow. The sad part is it wasn’t there. It wasn’t on the back seat where I always placed it, nor was it in the front seat. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as I said to myself, “I forgot my stinkin’ bow!!!” In my excitement and anxiousness for getting back into the treestand, I overlooked what mattered most. And when you pull a stunt like that on a hunt by yourself, there’s no one to blame. It was me. I messed up. I left out the one thing that I needed the most.

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On the embarrassing ride home I called my wife and said, “I finally did it! After 20 years of bowhunting I finally left my bow at the house!” She could only laugh as she looked and confirmed that my bow was in fact sitting right by the door…overlooked. I really don’t know how I missed it. I practically had to step over it to get out the door! I was left to ponder how many times we do the same thing in our daily life. We overlook the things that matter most. We rush headlong into the day with great excitement and anticipation for the next big thing, all the while overlooking the one thing that matters most. Countless are the times I’ve blown right past God and never gave Him a second glance when I was caught up with hectic schedules or the busyness of life. Have you been there? Are you guilty of overlooking the one thing that matters most? A relationship with God is what life is all about. To bring Him glory and to make Him known…that is why we exist. Don’t overlook Him today.

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