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Fishing - A pass time for the Future |
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Precious Seconds Have Eternal Consequences - Troy Jens Change Their World - Teach A Child To Fish It’s morning, the sun’s warmth takes the chill away from the long night, and God’s breath gently writes a perfect song in the wind chimes that He made out of leaves. The mist recedes like a familiar ghost from over the surface of a country pond, and the stillness of the water is broken only by the “plop” and ripples from a cork that was cast by little hands. A kid - is fishing. Small hands, a big heart and giant anticipation - already adorned with the passion of the outdoors. For a few seconds, the world stops as the cork disappears, then eyes grow big and the smiles set in when the fish is finally in hand. I am humbly blessed to have had the responsibility to teach countless children to fish. Many years ago I started in the recreation department on a large State institution for kids/people with challenges from mild to severe/profound mental retardation and physical disabilities. Being an angler from the age of 3, those kids got to go fishing a lot with me when I was at the helm. I adopted one of those children, and despite her extreme disability she loves being out fishing. She can’t fish, or talk or walk, but it is not about that, it is simply about just being there. There is a language that does not require a voice, and fishing is where you find it. When I went to guiding full time, I was blessed over all of those years with so many trips where kids were involved. There is no smile like that first fish, and the doors opened will always change the course of a life. Much of my time over the years has been donated to teaching or taking kids fishing. Having been a part of the Childs Wish Outdoor Wish Granting Charity for so long I have had the blessed opportunity to remain involved in the lives of many kids who endure the serious issues of chronic and life threatening illnesses. And as a missionary for young people, I discovered long ago that the greatest mechanism for opening the door to God is a fishing pole. But you don’t have to be a guide or a missionary to get involved in a kids life through fishing. All you have to do is care. Fishing with a child is not all about teaching, it’s about learning, and it don’t matter how educated you may be. I’ve always said, faith in the heart of a child exceeds the wisdom of the greatest scholar. And I know some scholars… The simplicity of a single moment of joy is the knowledge of God’s heart. When you’ve shared those seconds that money could never buy, then you have come to the true understanding of what life is really all about. I have spent years taking kids fishing who are enduring very broken circumstances in their world. If there were ever a perfect prescription for emotional pain, it’s a fishing pole and a lake or river. Hearts cannot help but open up out there. And whether it’s spoken or kept secret, a day on the water moves the soul. And if there were ever a platform to get to know what’s happening in the life of a youngster, then this is it. The connections made are not simply life-long, they are eternal. In a world of computers, instant information and endless texting, we have put our kids on the super highway to perpetual narcissism. And drowning in the wake of the “ME, ME, ME - I, I, I movement in our youth is the simple and humbling discipline that once came from life in the outdoors. So often now we entertain their brains, and starve their souls. And beyond the destruction that we already see, are the consequences that we don’t yet know. But fishing with kids is not always about going out with the sole intention of leading a young heart and mind, it is about giving them a chance to lead you. It’s a calm patience and a relaxed guidance that will let allow a young life to explore their path to the fullest. And if you are doing it right, you will find out that what you thought God was doing through you to teach them, He may be doing through them to teach you. / Troy Jens Precious seconds have eternal consequences… every moment counts.
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