The Reminder on the Wall

When I look up from my computer screen as I write this, I stare at a beautiful turkey mount that my son created.  It was his first ever attempt at making a turkey mount, and it came out wonderfully. 

It was our second day in the blind during the youth turkey season.  We spent the previous day in a different blind along a road, because we had seen a big tom walking the trail a few days previous.  But the morning we sat there he was nowhere to be found, so we switched it up for our second day and went to a tried-and-true spot where we knew the turkeys were.  We just had to call them in. 

After about an hour and a half of calling, we finally lured in three big toms who were about 50 yards away and to our left.  They came in response to the call, but when they saw our decoys, they made a beeline for them.  We had a hen and tom decoy out, and the three of them went for the tom decoy and started duking it out.  Little did they know that the plastic bird wasn’t going to fight back, but that did not deter them.  They continued to fight to show their dominance. 

When we first saw the toms, we could tell that two were older, and one was younger.  This is determined by the length of the beard on the turkey.  Only male turkeys grow beards.  Unlike a typical beard on a human, a tom’s beard is a tuft of course hair that protrudes from his chest.  Since turkeys don’t shave, the longer the beard, the older the turkey. 

When the three toms came into our decoys and started to attack them, they began to mix themselves up, and it was difficult to tell which one was which.  My son just had to choose one and pull the trigger, which he did.  The bird dropped, and the other two turkeys eventually ran off into the woods (but not until they apparently perceived the dead bird as a threat, and began to beat his corpse with their spurs!).  When we went to get a look, we saw that, in the melee, my son had shot the youngest of the three turkeys, but it was still a fantastic bird. 

Being something of amateur taxidermists, we knew that we wanted to try to make a mount out of this glorious specimen.  We cut off the tail and the wings, and set them aside to dry.  We also took the birds spurs, and his beard.  After a couple weeks of drying and curing, all the pieces were ready to mount.  The end result turned out fantastic.  The tail fan is spread out, with all the colors of the feathers on display.  The wings, too, are at full extension, with their brown and white bars going all the way to the tip of each feather.  The beard hangs from the empty shotgun shell that was used for the shot, with the spurs hanging on either side. 

Not only is the mount beautiful, but it serves as a reminder of God’s provision for us.  He has promised to care for us and provide for us because we are his children.  This mount is a reminder of that.  Hunting and fishing trophies can serve as a memorial of sorts, of God’s goodness and kindness to us.  When they function in this way, they serve a holy purpose that can point us to God. 

In Psalm 77, the author of the psalm is facing a personal crisis.  We’re never told what he’s struggling with, just that he’s in a place of deep pain and questioning.  The solution to his crisis is to remember all that God has done to provide for and deliver his people through the ages.  To me, this turkey mount serves the same function: I am reminded of a God who is good to me, who delivers me when I need help, who provides for my every need.

Excerpt from "A Glorious Arrangement: Christian thoughts on hunting, fishing, and creation" by Joel Detlefsen