Pure Joy

08/21/2018

My initial thought was “Oh great, that ought to ruin the day. “ I’d Just driven an hour to try out a new promising lake. After pulling into the parking lot a school bus pulled in right behind me. Fifteen grade schoolers piled out toting pole bags and tackle boxes. They all went to the nearby pavilion with their instructor to get set up for the day.

I instead waited in my car to see what they were going to do. I had images of them scattering across the park and filling every available spot. One by one they baited their lines and headed out. To my surprise every one of them went to the fishing pier. It wasn’t long until I heard an excited squeal. “I got one!”

With them concentrated at the pier I took off down the path to find another place to fish. Not far along I found access to a stand of lilly pads. I took out my bass rig and made my first cast. As I reeled in close to shore my swimming lure was literally accosted by five to ten small bluegill. I continued to cast but the elusive bass I sought was no where to be found. That’s when I made the decision to try my luck with the bluegill.

I cast out and immediately caught a small fish. Again and again I cast and either got bites or caught fish. I looked up and saw the children were loading up to leave. Now I could go after the bass I wanted off the pier.

I arrived at the end of the pier and again began to cast my swimmer. This bait had been effective earlier in the week but today I could only snag weeds. That’s when I decided to again switch to bluegill. That’s when it started to get crazy. I immediately caught a fish and continued to get fish or bites on every cast. If someone would have been fishing with me they would have heard me excitedly say, “I’ve got one!”

THOUGHTS: It’s easy to get caught up in the technology and gadgets that dominate our world. We look for big accomplishments and bigger rewards. Try instead to recognize the small victories that are along the way. As they come be willing to excitedly exclaim, “I got one!”