Red on the Head

I saw this...

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/12/07/Dog-attacked-by-deer/UPI-31131291759300/ and I had to post this story...

When I lived in Bend, I came home from a student function one night and as I rounded the corner, I saw a deer at my front door. I lived on a missionary's salary (nothing) and had a small, upstairs studio apartment. To get to it you had to go to the side of the building and up some stairs...so my apartment basically had its own entrance and I had a little porch. This deer was standing on the little porch, looking down at me.

I knew enough not to try and go up there and tell the deer calmly to exit the premises. But I wasn't sure what I should do. It was snowing HARD, and the temperature was below zero. I wanted to get inside BADLY. So I grabbed a snow shovel that was leaning against the building, and I began to poke up through the wood slats, trying not to hurt the deer, only to scare her. It was a small doe, and looked very young. But she just dug her heels in and it looked like she was going to set up camp for the night. I didn't have a cell phone in those days, so I couldn't call for help, and wasn't sure I'd even want to. It was a hilarious situation I knew I'd be teased mercilessly about.

I tried talking to her while I was poking, and I believe the word "Shoo!" was used many times. I then began to bang the shovel under the porch, but all that did was dump more snow on me. I picked up some pine cones and threw them up onto the porch, trying not to hit the deer, but I'm sure some did hit her. I didn't throw them hard though.

Finally, I resorted to prayer. It should have been my first thought, I know...

My prayer went something like this: "Lord, I don't speak deer, but I know you do, since this animal is your creation. Could you please help her understand that she could get hurt up there and if she'll just turn around, she can go back down the stairs the same way she went up them?"

As I said Amen, I looked up at the deer one more time, and she looked dead at me. We locked eyes for a minute, and I said, "I know you don't speak human, but could you just come down? I'm SO cold!"

And with that, she turned and went down the stairs as pretty as you please. At the bottom of the stairs, she turned and looked at me, and then took off across the road and up the butte.

I went up the stairs, looking carefully for any brown or yellow snow, and made my way inside my warm little apartment. I was so thankful that our Heavenly Father is concerned with the big things in our lives as well as the small things...like interpreting my words on a cold, snowy Oregon night for a very scared little doe.

Perhaps the woman in the story should have prayed...wink, wink.