the view from my window

On Monday morning I looked out my office window and thought I saw a deer. When I looked carefully, however, there was no sight of him. Sometimes, when you are looking for something, you think you see what is not there. What you thought was antlers are actually the branches of a tree.

About an hour later I looked out the window again and there was a six-point buck staring back at me. He was about 100 feet from me. I called my daughter, who works in the preschool office downstairs, and said, “Come up to the office! Right now!” A few moments later she came running into the office saying, “What is wrong? Are you okay?”

I told her to look out the window and when she did, she said, “I don’t see anything.” I told her to look again and after a few seconds she said, “OH WOW! He is gorgeous!”

I spent the next hour staring out my window at this magnificent creature. He was lying in the snow just kind of taking it easy. It felt to me like a sacred moment, a holy experience. It was the same feeling when I see a beautiful sunset, the Grand Canyon, or Niagara Falls.

I could have watched him all day but alas, I had work to do so I turned back to my desk. The next time I looked out the window, he was gone. The next day when I got to the office, I looked for him again but could not see him. About an hour later I looked again and there he was! Almost in the exact same place, only this time he was standing, and I had a much better view. He was standing in the sunshine instead of the shadows. That is when I snapped the picture above.

Since then, I have wondered, “How often has this deer been outside my window and I just did not notice him?” Likewise, how often do we miss the presence of God because we are not paying attention? If we look for Him, we will find Him. He is always there.