August 24
Patience
I am thankful for patience, at least the times I've had it. Other times, it seems to be nowhere near. In times like those, a prayer for patience is needed. Sometimes we need to sit down, take stock of everything, be patient, and relax.
My grandfather, Fred Tulley, loved to fish. He had a favorite fishing hole outside of town. He took me with him one or two times. He always said I needed to be quiet and still so that the fish would take the bait. I never had the patience to do that and consequently I never caught any fish. A story I remember about my grandfather and fishing was the time that he parked his car on the steep bank which led down to the pond. He must have forgotten to put the emergency brake on and had left it in neutral because the car ended up in the pond before he could stop it I can picture him running after the car and trying to grab the door. (I had a similar experience trying to catch a lead-lined gamma counter that rolled down an incline at work while I tried to stop it unsuccessfully before it plowed into a pickup truck). My grandfather had to have the car towed out and then dried out and cleaned up inside and out and have the engine restored to working order. I think he had to have great patience to have made it through that episode. Even more so than fishing!
When my son John was quite young, he asked me to take him fishing. I agreed, of course, even though I had little knowledge of the intricasies of the sport. He had a pole and hooks but no bait. We went to University Lake in Baton Rouge and on the way, we stopped at an Albertson's grocery store to look for something that would serve as bait (yeah, I know, grocery stores aren't where you usually go for bait). We browsed around and finally found something - Goldfish crackers! It just seemed appropriate. Needless to say we didn't catch anything but we had a good time. John's Papa Richard finally took him properly fishing in Florida, where he caught his first fish - a very large one.
This is a photo of a fisherman fishing in the Gulf at Gulfport Beach. I can't think of anything that requires more patience for me than fishing. I've never been much of a fisherman. I've only rarely caught anything and I have no patience for even trying. I think I'll stick to golf. At least you're moving all the time. Although I am sure to hear from my fisher-friends, fishing for me requires great patience, more than I have readily available. Sitting still is not one of my virtues. Perhaps I should make myself fish so that I can better learn the art of patience. Na. The golf course is calling.
patience
(thanks to my pastor, Hawley Wolfe, a "Hero of the Heart" for the inspiration for this)
give me the patience of Job
the loyalty of Ruth
the courage of Esther
the wisdom to know truth
the faith of Abraham
the insight to know what’s missing
the chastity of Joseph and…
to never make me go fishing!
© rt tulley