What is my lesson?

December 17, 2006. Had a great church service today, honoring Steve’s 10 years in the ministry. We also had a Christmas program, where Heather sang a stunning version of “O Holy Night” to open the program. It resulted in an immediate eruption of applause. I think God was applauding as well.

On the way home from church in the morning, we saw a rooster pheasant fly into my grove on the north side of the house. I went inside and grabbed my gun and took the two boys (Michael Jr. and Aaron, our pastor’s son), both in the 2nd grade. They were excited to try to go get a pheasant. We pushed through the entire grove, coming back with nothing but pantsfulls of cockleburs. The boys did well, though. I figured the bird either flew out early, or continued running ahead of us to the south down a line of pine trees and grass that line my property. So, we ran back and got our Golden Retriever, Susie, for her first “hunt”. She has a good nose, but doesn’t listen well, so I don’t take her out much. About 50 yards down the treeline, she started getting real birdy. She had her nose down the whole time, and her tail was going crazy! I imagined that rooster must be running ahead of us. We continued pushing towards the end. I figured the bird would either erupt out the end of the tree line, or it had already done so before we got there. As we approached the end, Susie continued working. We got all the way through, and… nothing. The bird must have flown out early. I stood there, somewhat disappointed. It would have been so perfect – Susie’s first bird, the boys’ first experience of the heart-stopping thrill of an erupting rooster, and the beauty of a folding bird at the touch of my Remington 870 trigger. I sat there for a moment, contemplating what might have been. Susie kept pouncing around the last tree at the end, as if to say, “Where is that thing?” I was just starting to explain to her that the bird was all gone, when all of a sudden, from under the tree, “Cackle, cackle, cackle…,” out erupts that rooster! It was perfect. The dream did come true…. except for one minor detail: there was no folding of the rooster at the touch of my trigger, neither the first time I touched it, nor the second. Susie’s first flush happened, the boys had their first witness of an erupting pheasant, and I was left holding a smoking-barreled 870, and some 4-letter words that nearly erupted out of my mouth as loudly as that rooster. Fortunately, those words never made their way to my vocal chords, or it may have been the last time Michael’s friend Aaron, the pastor’s boy, was allowed to come over.

Certain experiences leave one wondering, "What am I supposed to learn from that?" I used to let experiences like this bother me for days. I would replay the incident in my mind, over and over. I would beat myself up over the stupidity. As I grow older, I continue to realize that things often don't work out as planned. And, rather then dwelling on the past, I choose to look forward for the next opportunity, learning from any mistakes I may have made. Life is too short to dwell on the past. Live and learn.