Christmas
I am blessed. I have a wonderful wife and two great kids. My job allows me to do, daily, the things that I love. I get to meet interesting new folks and catch-up with friends. On a near daily basis I get to witness some of that best that creation has to offer.
Hopefully, I do my part and share in some way how grand our natural world is. While fishing, even it its most conservative, is a blood sport, it is not bloody. I've long since given-up trying to explain to non-anglers why I fish. It is who I am, and it's that simple. My passion for angling is as real as any other occupational calling; be it a pastor, teacher or doctor. I guess then, in order to be true to that calling I must do something "real" with that passion.
I'm not sure why I am a fishermen, but I am. I do know that I love teaching folks about what I have come to love and I treasure the experiences I get to share with my guests. I know for certain that I am not perfect, and that I am as prone to err as the next guy. I can only hope that, in the long run, my contributions out weight my detractions. Guiding truly is a lifestyle, not merely an occupation. As much as I love to teach I love to learn. I challenge you all to look harder and listen longer the next time out. The more attentive you are, the more solutions, and yes, questions you will find. It's a never ending process-cherish it!
The next time you step out of your vehicle on a cold winter morning, stop. Wait a bit before you jump into your waders and string up your rod. Breathe. Listen. Look. Think about the things you will see and feel while you are on the water. Recall some of the fond memories you have had while fishing. The domination of the cold. The surging power of the water. How a charging steelhead can make you forget about both.
You are in these places for some reason. That is a powerful thought. What's even more powerful is that these places are before you for a reason. Even in my most rebellious youthful days, time spent afield left me with absolutely no doubt that God was ever present in my life for there was simply no other way that the things that grounded me could exist. Hunting and fishing probably saved me as a youth, and they have enabled me to be a husband and father that I think my wife and children are thankful for. It must be because I am honoring the passion within me.
The Christmas season is about the birth of a very special child, and the awe surrounding his birth. It's about promise. It's about what that baby was going to do, and has done. I can't help but wonder why that child later sought the companionship of fishermen. Was it because we have an appreciation for, and dependency on, the world around us? Was it because we knew that, by fishing, we were being true to ourselves--feeding that subtle longing we can never explain? I truly don't know.
What I do know is how that baby has changed my life. Being married to a pastor I see, repeatedly, how that baby changes the lives of others in outstanding and magical ways. It is unmistakable and undeniable.
Christmas is about a baby.
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