Fishing

Some 17 years ago my father took me and my brother-in-law on a fishing trip to Sitka Alaska.  Except for some Colorado skiing, our family wasn’t outdoorsy, but my dad’s cousin has a charter boat there (www.sitkasecret.com) so we had some sense of security to go along with the adventure.  Except for getting sea sick my first day out on the water, my memories are fond as we caught fish and saw sights that just aren’t available in the burbs. 

A lot has changed in the last 17 years with kids and career, and in that time we had frequently talked about getting back Alaska to fish again.  This past week it finally made it happen, this time with my father and my son.  The timing seemed right as we anticipate Riker getting busy as he’ll be starting high school and summer football practice starting in a week.  Dad will turn 78 this summer and remains active and in good health, but as they say, none of us are getting any younger. 

The trip was great.  Sitka was largely how I remembered it.  The weather was decent and none of us got seasick!  There have been overall declines in the fish population resulting in tighter restrictions, but our 3 days on the boat still resulted in us catching our limit and ample quantity of salmon, halibut and rock fish.  With the catching, there was also “the waiting”…  On the last afternoon we had about a 3 ½ hour drought between fish.  You never know when fish will bite so you have to be diligent in watching for that certain jiggle in tip of the rod, and when it does, you have to act to be sure to set the hook.  The analogy was obvious, you never know when an opportunity might come and you do need to be intentional with what you’re looking for, where you’re likely to find it and what will raise the odds of attraction.  Even with all the right planning, you still have to stay diligent, expectant and hopeful.  What am I “fishing for”?  Am I doing my part or am I just feeling sorry for myself that fish haven’t just jumped into my boat?

The trip also brought a number of whale sightings, some at a distance and one that surfaced only 50 or so yards from the boat.  I was reminded of Jonah.  Of course we all know the childhood story where Jonah spends 3 days in the belly of a whale, but I really enjoyed reading the 4 short chapters of Jonah as am adult.  (I like the New Living Translation, a straight forward translation without the “thee’s and thou’s”.)  Jonah is a fascinating story.  First that God wanted Jonah to do something. God is God and can do anything, but somehow interacts with humanity where we play a role.  For whatever reasons, Jonah runs… he seeks to escape his calling, role and responsibility.  What’s great about the story is that God goes fishing… God pursues Jonah, He brings storms and involves others in his life that eventually lead Jonah to understand the err of his way.  He ultimately cries out to God.  That’s where we read the wonderful words that “The Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah.”  Following, Jonah does fulfill God’s will for him, but has his own expectations about the outcome and ends up pouting that God’s did something different.  I thought the great fish was the miracle, but was pleasantly surprised to see that the later chapters included two other references to “the Lord arranging” other things to gain Jonah’s understanding and relationship. 

Wow, the Lord fishing for us, arranging things for our understanding, relationship and role in this world.           

Continuation

This past Friday was the 8^th grade awards ceremony and this coming Thursday is “Continuation”.    

Parents are notified in advance that their child will be recognized with an award, but for some reason, we are not told what the award will be.  The event is during regular business hours so some special effort is required for some parents to attend.  Parents sat in the bleachers while the entire 8^th grade class sat in folding chairs on the gym floor listening for their name from one of the teachers to recognize their special achievement or activities.  Not every student was recognized, but as expected, certain high achievers that got to walk multiple times for various certificates.  I was struck by the variety of academics, activities and achievements at the middle school level.  The final and most coveted award at Goddard Middle, at least for us hopeful parents, is for “Viking of the Year” which goes to just one boy and one girl who displayed extraordinary character and contribution.  I was sitting close to the parents of the girl who won Viking of the Year - their joy and pride was both understandable and palpable.  As we walked to our cars, some of the parents of the students who had received lessor certificates wondered if it was worth the time and effort.    

Continuation is this Thursday to commemorate that Riker and his classmates have finished middle school and will be in high school in a few months.  I have to admit I’ve been a little less than excited about the idea of continuation ceremonies.  While they certainly mark something, they aren’t a graduation which clearly marks the completion and achievement of something.  When did these continuation ceremonies start anyway?  I don’t think they happened when I was in primary school, but if they did, they weren’t meaningful enough for me to remember.  Even so, we want to be supportive so we will endeavor to subdue our cynicism and attend.    

As I’ve considered these events and the feelings about them, it seems much of my opinion is driven by my busyness – not so much whether these events are good or valuable by themselves, but relative to all of the other things on my “to do” list.  Ironically, I’ve come to the conclusion that these two events are just the kind of thing that is too often missing from my own life.  Both the awards and continuation ceremonies are opportunities to pause, just for a moment and look back and forward.  They recognize achievements and involvement but also indirectly highlight missed one’s missed opportunities.  It made me think that “working adults” could use some more ceremony where we honestly evaluate where we’ve been and where we’re going.  I suppose some of us do it a little around New Year’s or our birthdays, but I think there really is something to structure and formality.  Life is always a “continuation” and never really a “graduation”.  Riker has just finished high school registration and full of hope and excitement as he gets to choose his classes and extracurricular activities. 

Yes, the school context and structure makes this easier to do for a student, but I think we’d all benefit from jumping off our hamster wheels a little more frequently to take account of our progress and “register” for some activities that are more in line with where and who God wants us to be.  One last thought, sometimes God just knocks the hamster wheel over.   Blessings to you and yours!  

BTW, Happy Mother's Day Mom!  (I figure you might be the only one reading this...  <grin>)