Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. (Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV).

Some of you know me well enough to know how much I enjoy wildlife of all kinds. For years when we lived in Texas I had a wildlife feeder in the back that I kept filled with corn for the deer and other critters that visited my yard. I must confess that it was always a joy to see them visit the feeder, especially in the winter when food was a little scarce for them otherwise. When we moved to Tennessee I built another feeder of the same design to attract and feed the wildlife here. So far I’ve had some squirrels, blue jays, crows, rabbits, and deer to cross the fence and grab a snack!

As I watched them this week, especially with the bitter, record breaking cold we are having in Middle Tennessee, I thought about the passage from Habakkuk in our reading for the day. Do you know that one of the responsibilities of a game warden in the winter months is responding to calls from ranchers and farmers that are having problems with wildlife eating their livestock feed? In a bad winter you can spend a lot of time fencing off hay stacks and corn piles. Deer and other large wildlife have selective palates and will go for the best second cutting alfalfa when it’s available. While they prefer that food, it really isn’t as good for them as other foods. So, the rangers will “short stop” the marauding deer by placing good quality feed between their bedding area and the ranchers’ haystacks. As the deer eat this new “short stop” food source it’s important to keep the food available so they don’t move back to the haystacks.

Freezing cold, snow packed winters can seem to last forever. A person can get stir crazy and sick of the sub-zero temperatures every day. But, just as Habakkuk learned, it will get better. Spring gets closer every day. All that snow will melt, filling the stock dams and ponds to overfull. The rivers and creeks will run over their banks spilling water in places that haven’t seen water in a long time. With all that water, life rebounds quickly as grasses start to green up, trees blossom, and the wild flowers bloom. Spring arrives!