Pure Water Hollow Homestead

An October Dawn At Pure Water Hollow

I had at first gone past my destination because it was so difficult to see, even with a good flashlight.  The heavy fog acted as a wall to my flashlight beam and I had never tried to hike up there in the dark before!  I was finally in position around 6:00a.m., which would be a full hour and twenty minutes before I could recognize the dawn.  I was armed with my muzzleloader and I had hoped that I would have a good shot at my first deer when it walked by on the trail below.  (If I can provide meat for our table from wild game on my own land it will save us money and help us move closer to being self-sufficient.)  This seemed to be a good spot because I would be well hidden, there would be no breeze from behind me that could carry my scent to an alert deer, and my black powder gun would be able to stay dry if there were a threat of rain.  I did not see any buck on the trail that I envisioned him going down, but I was blessed by my time spent there, nonetheless.  I stayed there for the next 5 ½ hours, and just took in the whole marvelous scene that God rolled out before my eyes and ears. 

A gray squirrel high up in the tops of the trees was the first animal to seem to say, “Good morning”, when he caused several leaves to flutter to the ground as he shook the limbs, jumping from one to another with ease.  The dew was dripping so furiously from the trees that it sounded like a steady drizzle of rain, making pitter-patter sounds on the blanket of fallen leaves laying all around, but the squirrel didn’t seem to mind at all.  I suppose he was used to it.  This was his world; I was the foreign guest here, recognizing God’s grandeur in ways I seldom have the chance to in the world of civilization. 

Gradually, little by little, the night continued to retreat against a mounting army of dawn’s light.  At first I could only make out the silhouettes of the nearby trees and branches above me, and they were not even definite forms because of the heavy fog.  It was a wondrous experience to observe the fog slowly disappear and more and more trees and rocks to be revealed!  It was as if I was looking through a camera lens that was out of focus at first, but then gradually adjusted until the foreground came into perfect clarity, with the background farther away still a blur.  It wasn’t long before a chipmunk could be spied running back and forth across a long, half rotted, log.  This old log itself seemed to tell a story.  It had many years ago given up the fight to remain a towering tree, and was now content to be a home for small, furry, grounded creatures instead of highflying birds or acrobatic squirrels. 

As the forest floor came more and more into focus, I began to notice not just one, but three chipmunks, all of them scurrying around amongst the logs, rocks and leaves.  I could see a greater abundance of the tree limbs of the forest tops and they began bouncing and swaying and showering leaves from several squirrels now.  I got a very good look at one squirrel in particular when he stopped in a tree in front of me, not much higher than my eye level, and looked at me.  I sensed that his eyes met mine, but he did not seem to be alarmed.  After a few seconds he jumped to another limb.

The continual dripping of the dew became less and less pronounced as the light continued to gain command of the situation.  Not only was light obliterating the darkness, but it was also driving the fog away and the noise making dew seemed to be running away with the fog.  The sound of birds singing in the new day soon began to replace the dawning dripping pitter-patter of the dew. 

The most pronounced cry of the morning was that of a Pileated Woodpecker from the other side of the hollow.  Another Pileated Woodpecker, which was above and behind me somewhere, would answer his call.  The whole time, more and more of the view from this ledge was coming into crystal clarity with the foggy background moving farther and farther away.

I heard some definite leaf rustling noise across the trail and on the other side of the hill, below the point that was in my line of vision.  I could tell it was getting closer and closer, coming up the hill.  Soon it would emerge on the trail right below me.  I cocked the hammer back on my gun and was ready to take down the deer that I knew would appear.  Then I saw a strange oblong shape on a stick moving back and forth.  As it came a bit higher and closer to the trail I realized it was the head of a wild turkey, which was scratching in the dirt and leaves!  Soon there were two magnificent birds on the trail below me.  I thought about touching one off, but at that point I still had hopes of getting a deer.  I thought that the deer might hear the turkeys and not notice that I was up there, too.  Maybe the turkey noises would make the deer feel as though everything was normal, I thought.  The turkey must have noticed me when I slowly lowered my gun because they went back over the hill and disappeared silently and quickly.

As the day became brighter and the sun began to push it’s golden rays through the canopy of leaves above, I couldn’t help but notice the variety of different shades and colors of the leaves all around me.  I thought that last weekend the woods were pretty, but this spot, at this time, was far more dazzling than anything we saw last weekend!  The variety of golds and oranges and light greens of the poplar, beech, hickory and oak were complimented wonderfully by a couple of deep red maple trees.  I thought to myself that I would be happy to stay here forever.

I may have been able to stay much longer, had it not been for my being so cold and hungry and stiff.  I decided that it was not meant for me to get a deer at this time and place, so I began the hike down the hill and to the clearing.  I still had my gun ready, and decided to go along the Split-Rock Trail to see if I might scare up a deer or two there.  It is a wide bench with many deer trails through the beech and birch trees.  This would be my next pick for a perfect place to get a deer and some day I will try to hide out at the Split-Rock much like I did this morning at the West Cave. 

I found no deer along this trail and decided to set the hammer back to the lock position as I came through the pine tree decent to the barn, because of the possibility of slipping.  By this time, I had given up on the idea of getting a deer.  It was about noon now.  I was ready to get to the house so I was no longer walking stealthily.  As soon as I crashed carelessly through the woods onto the dirt road in front of the barn I saw something across the ravine!  It was two white tails bounding along the Pear Tree trail directly across from me on the other side of the ravine! 

I didn’t have much time to think, and had I been able to get the hammer up in the firing position quicker, I may have had a chance.  There were many small trees and brush in my line of fire, and the deer were on the run, but I got off a shot in their direction anyway.  Both deer dashed away, unharmed.

My muzzleloader, on the other hand, was not so fortunate.  I’m not sure why it happened, but the nipple that the hammer strikes to send fire to the powder to shoot the ball was somehow blown away!  I had been target practicing with the muzzleloader a couple of times this week and did not have any trouble with it but this was the first time I tried it out in the field.  Without that nipple, the gun is dead.  So instead of killing a deer I killed my gun!  That meant I could not go back out tonight deer hunting like I had planned. 

(Instead of hunting this evening, I went out and bought our first two pigs!  I will write about that in my next post, maybe tomorrow.)

The LORD of Pure Water Hollow

We recognize that

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17). 

I am not speaking of Allah, or Buddha, or of the Watchtower, or of some spirit being that was once like us, and that we will one day be like.  I am speaking of the one, true God of the Holy Bible who created the world and all that is in it in 6 literal days; who saved Noah and his family through a cataclysmic global flood when He destroyed the earth because mankind’s deeds were evil continually; who loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be the perfect sinless sacrifice that was needed as an atonement for sins; who saves whosoever will come to Him with true faith and repentance.  I could go on and on, but I am talking about a God who is powerful and a Savior who is personal. 

Salvation is one of those good and perfect gifts that only He can give.  I am saved and on my way to Heaven, not because of any good thing that I have done, but because of what Jesus has done in me!  When I claimed His blood on my life and repented of my sins and asked Him to come into my heart, He did and God declared me righteous from that moment on.  A Holy and just God looks at me now, and He does not see my sin and shame, but He sees His Son’s righteousness and sacrifice.  Praise Him forever more!

Since every good and every perfect gift comes from God we are keenly aware that He has given us the piece of land we now call “Pure Water Hollow” to take care of.  It is really His and we are to be good stewards of it!  He is the Lord of Pure Water Hollow and we give Him all honor and glory for creating such a wonderful place and allowing us to be a part of it. 

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev 4:11)   

Each success that we have, we will give credit to the Lord.  He sends the sunshine and the rain; He sends the harvest’s golden grain!  Every failure we experience we will thank Him for the lessons we learn.  Everything we do here, we want it to glorify God in some way.

Before we moved here in 1993 we made it a matter of prayer.  It seemed that God had worked a miracle to allow us to be able to buy this property for such a low amount.  We had no doubt that it was God’s will and His timing so we went ahead.  There turned out to be some trials before we even closed the deal but God helped us through them! When it was finally time to begin moving into the house we decided there were some things we should do first.  Before we moved any items into the house I made a point to hold out a Bible in front of me as we walked into the door for the first time as “owners”.  This was to symbolically state that the Word of God was the first and foremost occupant of our new home.  We prayed for God’s protection and leading and blessing on this place.  We prayed that He would help us to have a Godly home and that this place would be pleasing to Him for as long as we were here.  We gave the house and all the land back to Him before we even took possession of it!  We knew, even as a young Christian couple, that

“Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it”(Psalm 127:1)

God has greatly blessed us over the years that followed.  Each of our four children in turn gave their hearts to the Lord and was saved in that very living room where we prayed that first blessing on our home!  Glory to God in the highest!  Thank you Jesus!  The words in Joshua 24:15 were always true for us, but they became even more special after our fourth child was saved. 

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell:  but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” 

Before we had children, my wife and I had already given our lives and future to Him when we were married.  Jesus Christ is at the center of our marriage as well as at the center of our family and of course, the center of anything we do here at Pure Water Hollow!

There is only one Lord of Pure Water Hollow and thankfully it is not I, but the Great I Am!