A Joyful Life

A deer in the forest behind our house had twins this spring. In Missouri, white-tailed deer typically have twins given the abundance of available food. Herds of deer roam through our back yard at will. The deer rely on their impressive sense of hearing and smell to alert them to danger. White-tailed deer can move their ears to face different directions, allowing them to hear all around them without turning their head. Also, they can hear frequencies outside the normal human range, giving them even more protection. They have a great sense of smell, too. They lick their noses to make odors stick to the sensitive receptors, thus making it possible to smell predators long before seeing them. If they are startled, deer can run as fast as 40 miles per hour, so catching them would be a chore. Finally, white-tails have eyes on the side of their heads, giving them a 310-degree field of vision. Their vision is most acute in low light, which is helpful in their dawn and dusk feeding times.

However, it appears the deer have designated our property as a sanctuary of sorts, for they gather here often in mid-day. We have never hunted the property and I imagine there is some deer database that notes that and lists our backyard as a safe space. They seem to love the acorns and the shade, although the clientele changes throughout the year. Sometimes we have lots of bucks. Once I counted five 8-point and 10-point bucks milling around. Mostly we have herds of does, but this year we have had families. My wife loves flowers and though we do not grow a garden, we make up for it in flowerbeds. We specialize in Missouri natives and pollinators and the deer seem to appreciate that. It often seems that when a family of deer want to go out for a special meal they head to our flowerbeds. I often envision a buck wanting to take a doe out for a romantic evening and booking a reservation at our place. Once I looked out our front window and saw the rear end of a deer who had wandered up on the porch and leaned over the railing to get a better advantage at the flowers.

Those romantic evenings give way to the birth of fawns in May or June, which brings me to the scene in our backyard. The mother brings her two young ones to our backyard like a playdate at a neighborhood park. Fawns have the characteristic spots, which help them blend in with the sun-speckled ground. They typically lose these spots at 3-4 months and begin to look like smaller versions of their mother. Today, being only a few weeks old, the fawns are fully spotted and are a joy to watch as they alternate between playing and nursing. Like all weary mothers of newborns, the doe sometimes takes the opportunity to lie down in the shade as she watches her offspring frolic. They begin by chasing each other around the yard, alternately leaping and running, then, engage in a contest to see who can kick up their back legs the highest. Sometimes they are distracted by a passing butterfly and still their movement, but only for a moment. As though too full of energy, they will suddenly leap high in the air just for the joy of it.

Watching this pastoral scene makes me think of the peace the mother feels, lying in the shade, and the joy of living the fawns feel as they experience the world for the first time. God promises us that same peace and joy if we know where to look and how to receive it. In John 14:27 Jesus promises, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Again, in Romans 15:13, Paul prays for the Romans and for all of us, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” As I observe the doe, I am reminded of Psalm 23:2 “He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters.” And as I watch the fawns, I too am filled with a new joy at the wonderful world around me and the joyful life God gives.