On Friday morning I had planned to get up well before daylight and head over to a nearby farm that I have permission to hunt. As usual, I was running behind and hopped in my truck a little after 6:00am. In just a few minutes I was at the farm I hunt. 
Daylight had arrived and I began to wonder if I had missed my opportunity to see or hear a turkey. My conversation the night before with my wife was that I would love to harvest a turkey and be home before my boys went to school. My oldest son always wants to know if I see or got anything. As the season before ended he had hopes for me this season. Upon entering the opening to the first field, I called a couple of times with no answer. I eased on down the tree line to a break between fields and called once again. No answer. As I waited about fifteen minutes and called a couple of more I decided to head back to the truck and try a different spot. With my call, decoy, and gun I walked back to the truck imagining a gobbler in full strut. After driving several hundred yards to a different location I decided to shut off my engine prior to rounding the last curve before the area where I park. As I coasted about thirty yards out of a heavily wooded area to a small patch of woods, I could see into the field in front of me. Something caught my eye as I spotted movement around 175 yards from me on a knoll between the fields. The truck eased to a stop and I realized that this it was a turkey. The turkey turned and walked over the knoll in the opposite direction. Well again I thought if only I had been here sooner, maybe…… As soon as that thought passed through my mind, I could see the turkey was not completely out of site. I grabbed my 
Dad’s old Browning shotgun, three turkey load 2 ¾ shells, put on my gloves, put on my facemask, got settled and watched. There is an old path that is made from tractors and other vehicles that go in and out of the fields. The night before on Realtree Outdoors, David Blanton had used a road bed and a decoy to lure in a big gobbler. I remembered this and watched the make shift trail or road to see what would happen. I did not have time to put out the decoy so I was hoping he would walk the path. The turkey moved around a little bit and then began to move toward me. A few moments later he was coming straight to me. My heart was racing as I could hear another bird gobbling in the distance. As he moved closer I could make out a beard on this turkey. I never touched my call, I just sat and watched. In about five minutes the turkey was only thirty yards out and a little to my left. I shoot left handed and would have had to shift a little for the shot, so I just waited. It seemed as if the turkey knew where I needed him to go. The tom slowly moved closer and walked to my right. As he entered a small patch of saplings my bead was on him. After clearing another small tree I squeezed off a shot. The turkey fell right in his tracks. He was 19 steps from me. As I ran to where he was, I was speechless. I thanked God for this opportunity. What a morning. I could not wait to get him in the truck and home. In less than an hour I went from discouraged to ecstatic. Patience paid off. I quickly called one of my close friends, out of breath with excitement and told him the story. This was repeated several different times that day and the next. Thank you to all my friends and especially my Dad who has shared the sport of hunting with me. Also, the shotgun I used for this hunt was my Dad’s, which made this hunt even better. The turkey weighed 19 lbs, a 10 ½ inch beard, and 7/8 inch spurs. My 
turkey hunting friends, much more experienced than me, estimated he was a two year old tom. I am officially hooked now. Turkey hunting is a blast, literally. How many times in my life or maybe yours are we not willing to wait? Maybe we rush into situations or give up too quickly because things did not work out like we thought they should. I thank God for this hunt and the lesson I learned. Sometimes I am guilty of jumping ahead of a situation or not waiting for the right moment. Instead of watching or listening I am too busy talking or not paying attention. As all my attention and focus was on that turkey for those few moments, my prayer is that my life would be focused on Christ with that intensity every day. In my life I want and need God to show me his plan. Some of the guys have called my turkey “the gift” because I did not do anything but wait and watch. No use of a decoy, calling or anything of that nature. They were right, that turkey was a gift. This was not the "normal" turkey hunting scenario. God’s gift to all of us is His Son Jesus. Our lives, our surrounding, and the great outdoors, would not be the same without Him. No other moment will ever compare to the day I made a decision for Jesus to come into my life and forgive my sins. That hunt was a moment I will 
always treasure and remember. My relationship with Christ is something I get to experience every day of my life. My prayer is that I focus on each day with great eagerness in anticipation of opportunities God may place in my path. If you do not know Jesus as your savior, my prayer is that you will make that decision to follow Him. God bless you.John 3:16 “For God so love the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
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