#3 of 4 Doors That Are Not Locked
The first two in this series are the door of forgiveness and the door of friendship.
What’s behind door number three? Peace. If you can position yourself to receive, peace will come your way.
Just past 5 o’clock in the morning, I awoke and glanced around at the corpse-like lumps lying on the other beds and cots. With only a slight illumination from the alarm clock, I couldn’t really make out or remember which ones of us fell where. We planned to be in the river by 5:30 in the morning to secure the best fishing holes and eddys for the day. I eased out of bed, still groggy from the late night conversation and the preceding four-hour drive.
Brimming with a slowly emerging enthusiasm, I faked quiet as I clumsily gathered up my clothes, boots, hat, and gear and stepped out onto the cabin porch in my boxers, letting the door slam behind me.
The brisk morning air caught a draft up one boxer leg and out the other providing for some unexpected excitement. I looked around to see if anyone saw me jump, but there were no signs of life aside from the distant light in the Dam Store and the camp kitten pouncing on grasshoppers beside our cabin.
Off to the White River, I trudged along awkwardly in my waders. Shortly, I had secured a chilly and secluded spot from which to angle. The trees provided an arbor-like canopy above me, and the water moved slowly along this part of the river. Breathing deeply of the morning mist that hovered around me, I nestled in to a good position with water up to my ribs.
Ten o’clock, two o’clock, repeat, repeat and release. Time and again, I cast the line and watched as the fly lighted on the surface, then followed the current down into the eddy in which two rainbow trout cruised back and forth. I tried wooly boogers, scuds, and even an unknown breed that looked like other insects I had seen the trout feasting on all morning. Chipmunks played early morning games just up from the riverbank, and deer watched me nonchalantly from their place higher up the bluff. I could sit here all morning and never catch a single fish and that would be all right with me.
As it turns out, I did sit there all morning and not catch a single fish.
Of course, that probably has more to do with the fact that I talked and listened to God more than I did the trout. And, I am certain my odds did not go up as I napped on the riverbank for an hour. For everything there is a time and a season. Besides, two of the other guys caught their limit by 9am, which would provide more than enough fish for dinner.
Me? I caught what I came for. Over the course of a few days, I did catch several rainbow trout to contribute to the dinner grill. But mainly, this fishing trip gave me a good excuse to stand in the middle of a river and catch up with God.
Worth Repeating
Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.
-Henry David Thoreau
