Camaraderie

....this word strikes anger in the hearts of lonely duck widows for 60 days out of the year. My Dad owns a Duck Hunting Club where guys pay an ignorant amount of money to have the chance to hunt waterfowl on a great piece of property and MAYBE shoot a duck or two. Dad offers no guarantees. These men shell out thousands of dollars for gear and boats and memberships and registered dogs and all the cool gear that goes along with hunting. If anyone ever figured out how much duck meat costs per pound, Donald Trump himself couldn't afford to eat it!

These same men will also spend hours in the mosquito infested back waters of the Illinois River, slog through mud and stress their bodies in an attempt to camouflage their blinds and prepare their places of battle. I've never figured out how the smoke from their cookstoves and the smell of their cigars fit into the 'hide and seek' they so carefully prepare for and execute. Fearing nothing (not even the angry wife they've forgotten back home), they will rise before the crack of dawn, freeze themselves half to death and then sit for hours with icicles in their moustaches waiting for the ducks that may never come within target range. If they are fortunate enough to murder a bird and NOT fortunate enough to own a papered pooch, they then must strap on their $250 neoprene waders and waddle out into the water, praying that they haven't sprung a leak or that they don't fall into a hole.

When asked, they will reply that it is not about the killing of the birds, but about the camaraderie. They will contend that they LOVE being around their buddies and hanging out with the guys. It is about the sweet smell of nature (Have you ever actually smelled nature? It kind of stinks!), and the soothing call of wildlife. It is their place of comfort. Their place of rest. Their home away from home....their haven.

Do we seek God with such enthusiasm? The rewards of heaven are far more delectable than a hunk of bloody duck meat. Do we seek our fellow Christians with such fervor? I never had before attending the church I do now. As my faith has increased, and my walk has become stronger, I crave the camaraderie of those who share my passion for Christ. No matter what the cost or how silly it seems to the outside world, I will do it anyway because I need to. I need to be part of that community. I need that home away from home. I need my heaven.