Expecting a burglar or other intruder with ill intent, his heart pounding and nerves on edge, Joe cautiously went downstairs with a defensive weapon in hand.
What he found surprised him. A large deer (a doe) was in the sunroom frantically trying to escape the confining place she had somehow found herself in.
Joe, thinking wisely, retreated to the kitchen and ventured outside to open the sunroom door from the outside to provide an escape route for the captive deer. By the way, that might be a wise approach in helping a friend who is stuck in the confines of an undesirable place. Although direct and loving confrontation has its place, asking God to show you a door and escape route for them might be a wise strategy. Perhaps more important in the immediate sense is not why or how they got there but finding the way out to the place of freedom in Christ.
The deer failed to find that escape route right away, but headed deeper into the wrong place----right into Joe's clock repair shop. Maybe she thought it was good timing to do that. I'm sure Joe thought about clocking her a good one for taking the time to go in there. Maybe she thought she'd rather have hands. There is a time for everything, but the clock was ticking.
With the doorway open to an escape route, they waited. They called 911 and a state trooper arrived within minutes. As they assessed the situation together, the deer bolted out of the clock shop, through the family room, into the sunroom, and out through the broken window from whence it came.
It was a scary situation for about 30 minutes, both for our friends and for the deer. There was damage done, including broken glass and blood on the carpet and walls along with other evidence that the deer was frantically trying to find a way out of the trap it found itself in. You can use your imagination as to why the deer would jump through the window in the first place. Trying to escape an enemy? She saw her reflection in the glass? Something inside looked inviting? There are also plenty of "what ifs."
What would you say is an application and moral to the story, deer friend?
