Deer Crossing

Driving home down our two lane highway takes you past many farms, pastures, open fields and beautiful mountain views. To be interrupted by the occasional appearance of a deer is not uncommon but seeing a fawn alone is quite rare. Sure, you have to be careful at night when you see one because it is very likely that there are more nearby just about to cross the road. In fact, a fawn is usually accompanied by a doe and a second young one but this time I saw this little one by itself grazing.

Many of the old fences lining the road are no longer fulfilling their intended purpose. They have long sense fallen into disrepair and don't keep the once grazing cattle contained so they stand as markers to a past landscape of serenity and rural order. The deer are unhindered by fencing anyway. Watching them leap a tall obstacle like fence gives you a wonderful feeling like watching a high jumper in the Olympics conquer a height you thought nearly impossible.

I feel sorry for those living in cities where your daily commute or travels only takes you past towering buildings and people who don't want to make eye contact with you. As bad is the drive through asphalt suburbia where all is groomed to perfection by laborers you rarely see. The connection to the earth is lost and you don't even know you are missing it.

I am thankful for the two laned blacktop that takes me home from town and the people who pass you with a wave, even if they don't recognize your face. I am thankful for the relationships I have with the people who still work the earth for a living and are eager to share or sell to you from their harvest. These are the fields where I see the deer as I pass and watch them grazing peacefully near the clear rushing streams. This is the way God intended it.