"The solution to any problem -- work, love, money, whatever -- is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be." --John Gierach

And so…with better than six weeks since my last trip, I am anticipating the opportunity to once again step into the water this Friday. The location has vaguely been determined, the participants have been arranged, and the equipment glares at me like a rubber band pulled to its limit. One release and the energy is relieved.

I have so much to be thankful for. Family, job, moderately good health, my Church family…and a promising forecast for Friday. The clear warm skies of Spring have finally overtaken the Winter, which means that somewhere right now there is a hungry trout that will tease me repeatedly while I try to entice a strike. The last time I was on the river, the air temperature was in the low 40’s at best and the water was a brisk 37 degrees. Though I love winter fishing, it will be nice to spend and extended time on the water without loosing the feeling of hands and feet.

I, just as so many are, face a difficult time in employment. A fateful memo stated in cold black and white that our agency may be required to cut hours to stay afloat. I would be wrong to say that I am not concerned from a financial standpoint, yet I have endured hardship before and no doubt I will again. I have come to realize that a lot of my income goes to things that really aren’t vital to survival. As long as my family has food, shelter, and clothing, we are already better off than the majority of the world. Direct T.V., cell phones, etc., are not staples for existence. Fly fishing isn’t either for that matter, yet in a moment of paranoid justification I resolve myself to the concept that if things get bad enough, at least I can bring home some trout.

This Friday is Good Friday. The day when one man’s fate was sealed and by that sealing, my eternity was sealed as well. Others may think it odd but I am looking forward to reflecting on that moment in time as I stand in the river, look around at Creation, and realize that all I will see was created by the same one who bought my freedom and washed my life clean.

Enlightenment comes in many forms, and often we miss the opportunity to be immersed in what God wants us to see. We get so busy with stuff, so hypnotized by the speed at which life seems to travel that we miss the big picture. Jobs will come and go, money will be both abundant and scarce, our days will be filled with joy and pain, but the reality of a God who seeks to be a huge part of our lives will never, never, diminish. And it is with that hope that I look forward to Friday. Good Friday. And a few hours spent alone with the Creator in His most special day. The day of the cross. The day of my atonement.

And who knows, I may even catch a fish or two.

Saint Patrick’s Day got me thinking.

Saint Andrew is the patron Saint of fishermen, and before any obvious conclusions are made, I did not name Andrew after the aforementioned Holy advocate for anglers. But, nevertheless, I looked up (googled) Saint Andrew’s Day. It is December 1st. Well here at “The Perfect Drift”, we have decided to move the date of the holiday to April 2nd, which is also Good Friday. Why you may ask? It is because 1) I am off that day with pay, 2) I have not been on the water since the annual Frostbite Fling in March and will not be on the water until…yep you guessed it, April 2nd.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-171922899.html

So, in honor of the Patron Saint of fishermen, I will spend a goodly portion of that day honoring, celebrating if you will, the holiday by pursuing the Blessing of God, knee deep in a stream somewhere. And maybe, just maybe, the blessing of Saint Andrew will shower upon me a banner day on the water.

In other news…

I saw a report on the web somewhere that they have genetically altered rainbow trout in some lab so that they are these bulbous monster fish that have muscular development that rivals the chemically altered robustness of the actors in wrestling. Sorry folks…but that ain’t right. Pure and simple, when you start altering things, and think you are “improving them in some way other than how God intended, you are asking for trouble. I saw a photo of one and it just looks gross.

As some of you may know, I am in the process of writing a book. When I surrendered to the idea of actually doing it, a lot of things started happening, the biggest of which is the compiling of data. Imagine yourself standing in the center of a circle of people in which every person is giving you information. The voice of inspiration has been nonstop and though it is a blessing, it can be quite maddening at times.

One month ago was my last fishing trip. A large group of people gathered on a small river to catch monster fish. It was one of the few places and situation that I can think of where you can stand close enough to fellow anglers to carry on a conversation. Normally this would not be my idea of a good trip, but we had fun and everyone hooked into some leviathans. Even then, as I stood in the river, the voice of inspiration was whispering to me.

This voice of inspiration is a voice that I willingly invited to help me in this process. Without this voice, any word that I would put to the page would be self serving arrogance. To be perfectly frank about it, this book is more than I feel worthy to engage, but the voice of inspiration says “I know, but do it anyway”.

This voice is the speaking of the Holy Spirit and I am listening.

I may not see a dime from this book, but I am okay with that. I willingly made myself available to God for this work and He heard. This is what I was meant to do. This body of work in which I am engaging is my destiny, and I am listening as attentively as I possibly can. Even when standing shoulder to shoulder on a river full of big fish.

(photo by Jeremy Kwasni)