Life Lesson

“When you teach your son, you teach your son’s son.” The Talmud

My father and grandfather spent many hours taking my brother and I fishing. I can hardly imagine how they did it as often as they did. Well until today. My father-in-law called me earlier in the week and asked me if I would like to go fishing with him today. We made plans and I was really looking forward to it. I hadn’t been fishing for several months and the stock tank we were planning on going to has a track record of producing numerous bass every time we go. It is a great opportunity for my father-in-law and I to get away and tell some stories, laugh, and relax. Today as we were about to head out the door, I walked by the kitchen and saw Gideon standing there. He had no clue I was about to leave or that I was going fishing, and I could have easily slipped out the door while he was distracted. But as soon as I looked down at him I had to ask him. “Gideon, do you want to go fishing with daddy, uncle James, and your papaw?” Less than a half a second later I got the answer that I knew I would get. “Yep.”

Now once he gave the answer it changed the focus of the day. My goal had been to go out and relax with my father-in-law and brother-in-law, and do my best to out fish them both. Now my focus is going to have to be keep Gideon dry and keep him away from the cows. Of course I am going to try to do both of these while still trying to out fish our competition.

So we get all of our stuff together and we head out. When we pull up to the pond Gideon is screaming “Look Daddy! It’s the lake!” Before I can get him out of his car seat he is saying, “I need a rock daddy, I need a rock right now!” So we have been at the lake for 7 seconds and we already have screaming(happy screaming), and we are looking for a rock to throw in the water. Screaming and big splashes aren’t the best way to go about trying to catch a fish. But that’s o.k.

I very quickly had to talk to him about the poop. Gideon learned that if you throw a dried cow turd in the water, it will float. I tried to stop him, but the second I would take my eyes off of him he would find another dried turd and throw it in the water again. I like to think that this is because there were no rocks. But by the end of the day he seemed to be on a mission. Get as many dried cow turds in the water as he could. A couple of times he picked some up and said, “That’s Poop! Don’t touch it!” and then he went and threw it in the water. So really he was just looking out for me. He didn’t want me to touch the poop so he was sacrificing himself and getting rid of all the poop that he could. He is very thoughtful you know.

Now on to the fishing report. Remember this is the lake that always produces lots of fish and some really nice sized bass. Also remember, screaming paired with rocks, poop, and sticks being thrown in the water aren’t the best fish attractors. But I am proud to say that the Willy boys came out on top(which we often do.)

Total fish count of the day.

Father-in-law: 0
Brother-in-law: 0
Gideon(with a little assistance from his daddy): 1 fish, a pound and a half or 2 pound bass.

If you ask Gideon about it he will tell you exactly what we caught. “I caught a big ol’ Bass!” This day was not a productive fishing day, especially for this little lake. But it was one of the best days that we have ever had fishing out there. Because for a few hours on this warm February day, my father and my grandfather (who are both passed away) got to teach my oldest son some very important things. They taught him about the kind of worm to use. They taught him about frog eggs. They taught him that when you are reeling in a fish you have to keep reeling even though you are so excited about all the splashing that the fish is doing. Most importantly they taught him, and reminded me, that no matter how great or small the outcome is, if the day was spent sharing a moment with the people that you love, those moments will forever be the most precious things we hold onto.

I am sitting with tears in my eyes typing about this wonderful one fish day and thinking about how if it weren’t for my father and grandfather taking the time to teach me those things, I wouldn’t have been able to share it with Gideon and I wouldn’t be able to share those things with Josiah and any other children we might have when the time comes.

But my mind turns to God, and I think of the quote I included at the top of this post. I am thinking about the things that I am teaching my children and what I will be teaching my children. I worry about the wrong things that I will unintentionally teach them. I don’t want to teach my children something terrible that will be passed on to their kids. I want to teach my children the truths of God. I want to teach them to love and serve God. And when I teach them those things, those teachings will be passed on to my grand children and beyond.

It’s a beautiful thing!!!