The DOPE

It was 1973 and I was on the rifle range at MCRD Parris Island, South Carolina, firing from the 500 yard line with 20 rounds going down range. I had just hit 19 bullseyes out of the 20 and 1 round was a tight four at 6 o’clock. All of my shots were in the kill zone yet the instructor behind me didn’t seem to impressed when all 20 rounds should have went in the black bullseye. He asked me why I didn’t hit all 20 rounds into the black but I could not give a good answer. He answered it himself by telling me that it probably wasn’t the dope on the weapon but it was the dope behind the weapon. DOPE is an expression used for sight adjustments of the windage and elevation of a firearm. You never know how hard the wind may blow from one side to the other during shooting. You never know the total distance you’ll be from a target so you’re always having to adjust your sights to make sure you hit your target. My thought with all of this is simple in that your life is on a constant adjustment. The winds of life can knock you over to the side if you don’t watch out so you have to adjust for it. Sure, we’re not immediately prepared when events come into our life unexpected, so sometimes it a hit and miss thing. As we set the DOPE on our weapon for firing purposes, so we also need to properly adjust areas in our life that may be a miss instead of a hit. BTW... God has everything in our sights under His control and all we have to do is trust Him. He has taught us how to use our weapons of warfare in His Word. Let’s trust Him together. God Bless!!