Recently,
it was my younger brother’s birthday and his wife wanted to surprise him with new
fishing gear and a fishing trip with me. Now, just so you understand, a fishing
trip with me means you’ll be in a boat on the water, and odds are there will be
fish somewhere in the water.
I
get a little anxious when someone wants to fish with me. The reason is because I’m
not the best fisherman in world and feel pressure to be a good guide. Now, don’t
get me wrong, I’ve caught plenty of fish in my life. The fish species has ranged
from perch to king salmon, on upper Midwest inland lakes to a couple of
the Great Lakes. The objective when fishing is to obviously catch whichever
species I’m after, but most importantly, to enjoy God’s creation.
It’s
important to me for the other person to have a good time. On our recent trip, my
brother reminded me that everyone has a different definition of a good time. The
plans were all set. I did some research and found a highly recommended nearby
lake; so off we went. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in July. The hot summer
sun was shining and thankfully there was a strong breeze to keep us cool. We
started fishing by a patch of lily pads that was known to hold bass and
sunfish. Our set up was simple; a bobber and a plan red hook tipped with a night
crawler. It didn’t take long and my brother’s bobber started dancing around and
then darted under water. While he was reeling the fish in, I could see it was a
small sunfish, so I focused my gaze back at my bobber. Once my brother got the
fish in the boat he said with a grin on his face, “my first fish of the year.” It
immediately occurred to me what having a “good time” meant to him. We took a
quick picture and released the seemingly bigger fish back to the water. It was
a really good time with my brother! We changed fishing tactics a few times
throughout the day and the fish did get bigger.
Sometimes,
it feels like we don’t have a lot to offer; you may be surprised how much that
means to someone else.
Been there - done that. It's easy to let yourself fall into the "I gotta be landing a lot of fish to be having fun" mentality. It's good to have the reminders that a day on the water is fun in itself.
ReplyDeleteHey Jesse, thanks for the comment. Peace to you.
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