Becoming A Child Again

Within our world, too many times we see children as mouths to feed, diapers to change and pretty much a drain of resources and time.  In Jesus’ day, it was much the same.  How many times when growing up did you hear the statement, “Children are to be seen and not heard!”  In this kind of world, children have no say in what happens to them.  They are totally dependent upon adults for everything, including food, shelter, and clothing.  

During Jesus’ day, the disciples were pushing children and their parents away.  Jesus upon seeing this was greatly disturbed by the adult’s actions.  He told his disciples and others nearby who were keeping the children from him to stop and let them come near. Matthew 18:2 tells us that Jesus called the little children to him and then looked up to the adults nearby and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”  This is how Jesus saw children, and not necessarily how we as adults see them.  He not only viewed children this way, he asked that we become like them.  When children play, they many times mimic adults in their games.  It is a child’s form of work, but with the fun factor included.  This does not mean that we as adults should play all day and walk away from responsibility, but that we look at our surroundings through new eyes.  

You have heard some individuals say that they haven’t worked a day in their lives because they have enjoyed the work that they do.  Somehow, many of us adults have forgotten how to have fun, and at the same time accomplish the tasks before us.  So much of the time, we go through the day and look at it as drudgery all the while waiting for the weekend to have fun, or for that matter, even until retirement.  When the time for fun is allowed by us to take place, we have been in the trenches of despair with our jobs and lives for so long that when this time comes, we have completely forgotten how to have fun.  

Many times, adults look at the sadness in their lives and blame it on their circumstances such as jobs, location, or even those people around them.  I believe Jesus is trying to tell us that life is more than seeking the elusive rainbow around the corner.  Many times, it isn’t what a child has that makes them happy, it is what is before them that they see as the potential for happiness. Taking our eyes off of what might be, to that of seeing what is, and finding joy in our surroundings.  If we take the time to watch children and how they meet the day, perhaps we as adults can learn from them.  William Wilberforce was a person with great influence in the British Parliament and was influential in gaining the freedom for African slaves in England. As influential as Wilberforce was, he would leave a meeting of prominent men to run out and play with his children when they beckoned him.  This confounded his peers very much, but over time Wilberforce’s example helped other influential lawmakers to see another perspective towards children, their value and importance. 

In this time of restrictions and confinement, perhaps we too can learn from our children and rediscover life through the eyes of a child.  “Father, help us to see our lives as you do, so that we may live a completed life filled with joy, excitement, and with the heart of a child.”

Leadership In A Time Of Crisis

During the Civil War Abraham Lincoln worked directly with the military on a daily basis.  He quickly found that generals who were good in peacetime were not always the ones who brought victory on the battlefield.  Striving to find those that could lead, Lincoln searched for a general who could promote positive leadership as well as one whom he could work with.  Eventually, he found that man in General Ulysses S. Grant.  Grant had won the war in the Western front and now was asked to take command of the whole army in the East where the heaviest battles were taking place.  He instilled in his men the belief that they could win, and Grant quickly removed those that proved to be ineffective and replaced them with men who could show the attributes that Grant was looking for.  Eventually the war was won by these same men.  

During World War II men who could get the job done were promoted very quickly.  Dwight D. Eisenhower who just a few years earlier was the adjutant to General Douglas McArthur.  As Eisenhower worked with and for General McArther, Eisenhower watched and learned from him.  Eisenhower took  from McArthur the ideas that worked for him personally as a leader, and put those aspects that Eisenhower saw as less than stellar about General McArthur off to the side.  Eisenhower became his own man and he himself chose men that possessed the same attributes as himself.  Eisenhower did not object to removing men from leadership as did Lincoln and Grant before him.  The situation demanded it and he could not cotyle, politicize, or sympathize with poor leadership.  One situation that Eisenhower was tasked with was to remove a general who waited too long for what (this general deemed as necessary for victory) re-enforcements to arrive when invading central Italy by the sea. By waiting, this general waited too long and the German divisions were allowed to escape to the North, forcing the American and British to fight them again, and this time on the German’s terms.  This was a costly mistake that costs many hundreds of lives and extended the Italian campaign by many days and weeks.  His delayed actions proved fatal for many G.I.s.

Today we are facing a crisis much like our great leaders have had in the past.  Rather than being fearful, our leadership must be decisive, and individuals must act promptly.  Mistakes are bound to be made, but by wavering in decision making, many, many lives will be lost due to ineffective leadership.  Decisiveness is crucial, but also good decision making is important.  Truly good leaders do not surround themselves with "yes" men, but those men and women who are allowed to disagree, those that have ideas that might be contrary to their leader.  Without the ability to do this, subordinates cannot share perspectives that might be better than their respective leader.  One leader once said, “I surround myself with a leadership team who challenge me to think outside the box of my conventional ways!”  Good leaders must also show to their constituents that they are confident in getting the job done, and they in turn must instill that confidence in those they lead.  Whether they are in education, business, law enforcement, or the military, these same skills still apply.  

During the Great Depression, American citizens were hungry for more than just food, they wanted hope as well.  During this time, President Roosevelt began his “Fireside Chats” over the radio.  Weekly, President Roosevelt would update American citizens on the programs that he newly initiated that would help them with their jobs, food, and communities.  This one event told the American people that their leader cared about them, and was not somewhere in an ivory tower unaffected by their collective hardships.  This too is another trait of great leadership.  

Just before the invasion of Europe, General Eisenhower knew that he would be sending many thousands of lives into harms way and many would not make it back home to their loved ones.  Eisenhower decided to walk among his men listening to their individual stories, all the while encouraging them and thanking these individuals for their willing sacrifices in the challenges that they would soon face in the coming days, weeks and months ahead. These men needed to know that their sacrifices were not in vain and that those who led these men cared about them and believed in them.  Eisenhower’s visit to these men strengthened their weary hearts, gave them hope, and instilled in them that their efforts were not in vain. 

Now is the time for our nation and the world to pray for great leaders. We need those who understand the people they lead. Leaders who care about their challenges and who are willing to sacrifice for them.  When Israel was wanting a leader, God allowed the Israelites to choose the leader that they thought would lead them like the rest of the world leaders.  They chose Saul who was tall, strong and handsome.  In the end, he turned out to be selfish, arrogant, a coward, and a defeatist.  When God could stand his failing leadership no more, he appointed his prophet Samuel to choose another.  Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse to make God’s leadership selection.  Samuel looking at the 7 oldest brothers who were tall and handsome thought God would definitely choose one of them.  He was incorrect in his thinking.  Exasperated, Samuel then asked their father, "Jesse, do you have any other sons?” Jesse said that there one other son, “My youngest who is out taking care of the sheep.”  Samuel eventually stood before David looking down on his short stature and youthful smile and asked God, “Is this the one you have chosen?”  God said, “Yes! Man looks at the outside while I look at the heart!”  David turned out to be the greatest leader that Israel had ever had.  We likewise need to give this prayer to God, “Please Lord, give us the leaders that 'you' have chosen.”

He Is Waiting

In Matthew 14:13 we see Jesus being told that John the Baptist was just beheaded.  Scripture recorded that Jesus left everyone and went to a lonely place by himself.  One has to ask, why did he do that?  What is obvious to everyone reading this scripture is that Jesus must have been overwhelmed with grief and emotion.  We can only guess that Jesus needed to talk to someone who could offer him support with his grief, someone who could love him and give Jesus the answers that he sought after.  We can only surmise that Jesus was talking to his father, the one person that could help him with his feelings of grief and loss.  

I know that collectively we are all facing loss right now.  Whether it be with work, income loss, separated from family and friends, perhaps even the death of a family member.  Every one of us needs to talk to someone who will listen, advise, love and understand them.  We know that children often learn by watching adults in how they navigate through life’s challenges.  For us, as God’s children, we can follow our Father’s example in how he met life’s adversities by going to the person that could comfort, listen, lead and love him.  Jesus told us that he wants us to come to him, as recorded in Matthew 11:28-29.  “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.  For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

For those that do not know what a “yoke” is used for, it is a wooden collar placed upon two oxen.  The yoke keeps both oxen in tandem with one another.  If the load is too heavy for one ox, the stronger of the two will take up the slack and pull harder for the weaker of the two.  My father once told me that they had two plow horses on the farm that were yoked together and did all the heavy work side by side throughout their lives.  Dad said that when one was weak, the other horse would help by taking up the slack and pulling harder.  These two horses did every job on the farm together, but one day one of the horses grew ill all the while the other horse refused to leave his side.  He refused to leave him for they were the closest of friends.  By staying near to the sick horse, the other horse’s presence helped ill horse to get well sooner.  Each horse with their actions told my father that their bond of brotherly love was stronger than the challenges that they faced.  

Jesus wants to help us with our burdens.  He desires to take the yoke and support us. He has said that he will never leave us, and wants to help us.  James 4:8 says: “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”  He is waiting patiently for you because he loves you.

Coffee

A couple of days ago Anne and I were shopping at Natural Grocery in Fargo.  It was late and I was hoping to get some coffee beans that I had been waiting for.  I had stopped a couple of times before, but they either were sold out or the shipment was delayed.  I was feeling frustrated when coming up to the cashier when she asked me if I had found everything I needed.  I responded by giving a curt answer, “No I hadn’t!  I have stopped by a couple of times before and one of the workers had told me that the breakfast blend coffee would probably be in today’s shipment, but I see that it was not.”  She patiently thought for a second and asked me if I would be interested in the coffee near where I was standing.  I responded by saying that I had bought the pre-ground coffee yesterday but was hoping I would find the unground Breakfast Blend coffee in the back.  Feeling frustrated, I paid her for the groceries, and I was busy packing them up when I noticed Anne (my wife) speaking quietly to the same checkout.  When in the car I asked her what she was discussing with her.  I thought maybe Anne was talking about how to get the coffee when it came in.  Anne said that she was asking the checkout how she was doing and if she had a rough day.  I then asked Anne what the young lady’s answer was.  Anne said, “She told me that the day was filled with patrons rushing in to buy goods and fearing that they would not find what they felt they needed.  I then asked her how she was doing.  The young lady told me that she was very tired and was looking forward to heading home.”  

I then realized that I was one of those frustrated and panicked customers who was making this young lady’s day that much harder.  I realized that I was not concerned about her, but only my own needs.  But, God in his loving patience was not finished teaching me yet.  The next day as I was walking from my car to the coffee shop, I stopped to listen to a loud-sounding car coming up to the stoplights.  My first reaction was that of frustration since I detested what I called the “Bugle Mufflers.”  “Another kid with his loud car again!”   I turned to look and spotted the car, and the first thing I thought after looking at the car was to say to myself, “That muffler is worth more than the car!”  It screeched to a stop at the stoplight and what happened next made me halt in my tracks.  I saw the young man reach over to the passenger window and hand a man some money.  As the loud car took off, I could see that a man was standing at the stoplight with a sign asking for money to help him buy food.  I then turned to watch the broken-down loud car take off into the distance in a cloud of smoke.  I could then smell that he had belts in his engine compartment that were slipping and burning badly.  Growing up with a father who as mechanic, I knew that his belts were about to break from the excessive slipping that came from almost being worn out.  I realized that he had to drive fast to keep the engine going, since it was dying from a lack of electrical charge from his alternator belt slipping. He wasn’t showing off, he was just holding on with his broken-down car.   It then came to me that this young man was giving to the homeless man on the corner money that was very much needed in order to keep his vehicle going, or for that matter money to live on.  He was giving to the man on the corner out of his need, not his excess.  

As I turned to go my thoughts went back to Jesus in the book of Mark, chapter 12:44 Jesus was talking to his disciples about giving and trusting God.  After watching people put money into the offering box, Jesus from a distance pointed out an old lady putting two copper coins into the offering.  Spreading his hands to all the wealthy giving large amounts of money and then to the old widow, he said, “They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."  I knew that a woman’s income in those days came from a husband who worked outside the home while the wife worked within the home.  If the man died, it was left up to the grown children to help the parent.  This lady obviously had no one to provide for her, but she gave non-the-less.  

Thinking about this further, I came to realize that this lady depended on God to meet her needs.  

In examining myself, I was upset about not having a luxury, “special ground coffee.”  I was angry over someone else hoarding the coffee when I myself was wanting to do the same thing. In my selfish anger, I failed to notice the checkout who was having a very rough day. The next day I was still thinking of my own needs when I came to see the homeless man who needed money for survival, food to exist. On the other hand, the young man in the broken-down car was giving out of his need while I was angry over his noisy car, thinking at first that all he wanted was for people to watch his bugle exhausted noisy vehicle.  I was judging him wrongly, and God was showing me in his gentle way that people are not always what they appear to be.  He was revealing to me that putting others first is not always easy when scarcity is present, but God does not abandon us.  I am coming to realize that God promises to take care of us, and he knows our needs before we do.  Needless to say, sitting in the coffee shop, I drank my coffee in silence and pondered further what God was going to teach me.  

Last Day of Fishing As A Child

Last Day of Fishing As A Child 

Each of us has a last day of something, whether it be golfing, driving, knitting or even fishing. For me it was fishing. I remember that day with all my heart; it was not one of my best of efforts or for that matter, outcomes. 

I was 10 years old and I had many adventures with trying to catch fish of varying types and sizes. As a child growing up, I would learn from the older and more experienced fishermen, that is, when to fish and where to fish. Many would say, “It is best to fish when it rains!” And yet others would say, “The best time is just before it rains!” Well for me, I usually did catch something, but many times, it was not fish. It usually was something like a cold instead. Over time, I felt that I did become an expert in that arena (cold setting), but it did not deter me from my ultimate goal, and that was in enjoying myself on the river. 

With fishing it becomes a game of chance at times.  I found though at the ripe age of ten that being a good fisherman one had to have the best of everything.  I just knew that if I could afford the best fishing equipment, I would be the envy of many a fisherman and perhaps might even become a famous angler one day, (locally that is).  With that in mind I was more than motivated, and I was determined with all my heart in catching the “Really big one!” To reach this lofty goal, I set out for myself the target of having the best rod, the best real, the best bait, and of course the best place to find my huge monster. 

In obtaining this great feat, I needed to work, and work was is in fact what I did.  I walked so many bean fields that after a while all I saw were bean rows upon bean rows, even in my dreams.   Each day I put up with the agony of wet pants (and underwear) from the early morning dew.  Not only did I walk around squishing like a fish from being so wet, I endured raw and bloody hands from pulling so many weeds that were many times bigger than myself. This though did not deter me from purchasing my ultimate weapons.  After a few weeks of pulling weeds, I had earned enough to buy the newest reel that was just introduced, the Zebco 202. I was finished with open reels that were always getting tangled up into knots. One always had to spend as much time or more in untangling the knotted string on your reel as that of fishing. The new Zebco 202 all but eliminated this problem. The one challenge that would soon visit my dreams though was one that my new rod and real could not fix, that of arrogance, pride and stupidity. Nothing was said in the instructions on my new fishing equipment in how to overcome that challenge.

The day finally arrived for me to purchase my dream.  I walked into the store and asked for their newest pieces of fishing gear. I bought the lightest and strongest pole for my reel. It was made of fiberglass and it had a black base with red stripes on it. Really cool to look at with almost a racing stripe finish that would be the best and coolest looking fishing rod around. Lastly, I was going to use a new rubber lure that looked just like a wiggling worm. I was done with getting up in the middle of the night, walking down to Ashley Park in the rain trying to catch night crawlers which

were forced to come to the surface due to fact that their dens were full of water. I could identify with them completely about having to be where I didn’t want to be, “Out in the rain!” After about an hour of catching slimy night crawlers, I was totally soaked and ready to head home, take a shower and crawl into bed so I could get forty winks to keep from falling asleep in class the next day. This part of my life was now over, and I was on the road to easy street. I would now have stringers full of fish with no more effort in catching them than just having to breathe. 

Saturday was the day that would change my future in fishing. I would catch the big ones with ease and the older fishermen would praise me for getting the fish of a lifetime. I could also describe to them how easy it was with my new rod and reel. I just knew that they would be envious, and I imagined that the Coast-to-Coast store would have a great barrage of senior fishermen rushing into their store wanting the new Zebco 202 with the racing stripe fishing rod just like mine. 

My day started out, as did every Saturday at our house, except this morning I was the first one up. My brother Mike (12 years old) wanted to go along to see how the rod and reel would turn out, so I let him tag along. Normally it was the other way around, being the big brother, Mike would set the pace and inform me what I needed to do to spend time with him. I would always eagerly accept his terms just to spend even an hour with my big brother, but today the tables were turned. I don’t think my chest could have puffed out any further than it did at that moment when leaving the house while heading to the dam. My brother always fished next to the power plant where the waters were deep and calm, but today I saw huge Northern Pike leaping the swift currents right in the middle of the dam where the current was very fast. Throwing all caution to the wind, I was determined that this was the place for me, and I just knew I would catch one of those big ones for sure.  But first, I had to walk back over the bridge and back down the other riverbank to get out into the rapids below the dam.  When leaving my brother, I could see the apprehension on his face.  I wanted to rack it up to him not wanting me to show him up by me bringing home the bigger fish, but in the back of my mind I knew it was something more.  Regardless, I wasn’t going to allow my conscious to dictate terms to my superior intellect.  As I climbed up the riverbank to my brightest future and destiny, I happened to see an older fisherman down river from where I was. My first thought was, “I will have an impartial witness to see my superior fishing skills and witness how the new state of the art rod and reel really work.”  

In looking back at that time in my life, I can see now how the proud are humbled, and that one doesn’t need to hold a lofty place in society to learn humility.  But, for the moment, that lesson was lost due to the fact it was deeply hidden in the recesses of my mind, and the only way I was going to let it out was by the total surrender of my ego.  Humility and myself were not on speaking terms at the moment, but I would soon learn that this future state of mind would patiently wait for me in the wings.  

When entering the swift current below the damn I realized it was going to be more than a challenge.  I could see my brother watching me from a distance and I was determined to prove to him that I was the better fisherman.  That thought alone kept me going when reason should have told me that I was being a total nincompoop for even attempting this idiotic venture into futility.  Non-the-less, I wasn’t going to let common sense dictate to me what I could and couldn’t do.  In my mind I was past the point of reason and I was now entering into the realm of pure commitment.  I had just passed the point of no return; all that was left to do was to carry out my duty in following through with my heart.  So, I kept heading into the deep churning current

straight ahead. I intently focused my eyes on the giant Northern Pike jumping way out in the distance so as to ignore the alarms going off in my head.  As I slowly slid my shoes ahead onto the cement platform that was buried in almost a foot and a half of thundering current, my thoughts of getting the big one shrouded my reason and I kept moving along into oblivion.  It took me about ½ hour to reach my goal, but the problem of stability was the greatest challenge facing me at the moment.  The rapid current kept me sliding towards the edge of the cement platform where the buried boulders were lying in wait to swallow little boys up like myself.  Then a revelation came to me in a flash, “Just go ahead and slide off the platform and try to wedge one leg in the huge rocks and one on top of a sunken boulder!”  So, I let the current slide my feet to the edge of the precipice where I was fortunate enough to land on a slimy boulder.  I dropped one leg in front of submerged rock while perching the other on top of this slippery boulder.  This is working perfectly, now I would catch the fish of a lifetime.  At that moment I looked up and saw the senior fisherman watching me as well as my brother Mike.  I just knew they thought, “There is a young man with guts!”  Later though, my brother would share with me what he really thought, and you can put the puzzle pieces together by what he did in fact say to me.

Not to be undone by danger all around, I cast my line out into the churning cauldron of froth, hoping that these struggling giants would be more interested in my lure than any Immersed parts of my anatomy.  Noticing the force of the current against my weakening thighs and hips led my fears to start rising to unbelievable heights, and now they were reaching unseen levels in my brain.  Then it happened, a giant Northern jumped out of the water right in front of me and my fears suddenly became reality.  At that moment, reason didn’t seem to make its home in my mind.  I became so frightened that I felt that I would become more appealing bait than what was at the end of my line.  If that was not enough, my foot felt something move under me.  

I knew that monsters were hiding in the depths of the water, because I had just met one a month earlier.  My brother Ken and I were fishing in the deep waters by the power plant when I lost my best lure to something that seemed to pull the opposite direction when trying to draw it in.  In desperation, I pulled with all my strength and it started to move toward me.  When I thought I had the catch of a lifetime, my line snapped, and I went flying backward on to the rocks behind me.  My fleeting moment of rapture was gone, and my heart dropped into the depths of despair when I thought of losing such an expensive lure. I was determined not to squander my chances on another attempt at this lost adventure, so I waded into the deep and then dove down to find my expensive lure.  Gasping for breath, I exploded up out of the water with a portion of a fence on my shoulder.  It had been lying on the bottom of the river.  A storm must have drug it down stream with the raging currents and dropped it in the calm deep lagoon by the power plant.  When dragging it to the shore, I found that it took all of my strength.  Once safely on the sandy beach, I realized that I had retrieved the haul of a lifetime.  Lures and hooks were seen gleaming in the sun like many diamonds on a ring.  At that moment, greed was my friend.  I very delicately picked off each beautiful lure and put my treasure into my tackle box.  I looked at my brother, smiled, and then threw the fence section back into the water. He asked me what I did that for, and I told him that many other fishermen will soon catch their lures on this wire fence like I did, and I will then have another treasure trove in a very short time. All I have to do is dive back down to retrieve the fence once again.  I told Ken that I could get such a catch of lures as to be set for life.  He looked at me and went, “Hmm!” He then walked away shaking his head, but the way I dealt with a guilty conscious was to look at what I could gain from my treasure, all the while trying to ignore my better angel who was already pricking my conscious fearlessly.  Obstinacy soon won out though, but my better angel was not done with me yet.   About a week later I dove into the spot where I had dropped the fence section earlier.  I finally found it after feeling the muddy bottom for what seemed like an eternity.  I had forgotten how long I had been under water when all of a sudden I realized my head was starting to spin from lack of oxygen.  I launched off the muddy river bottom pushing with all my might to the surface, just barely making it to where air greeted my lungs with ecstasy.  Realizing my victory was just a few strokes away, I turned my head for shore, but as I rotated my body around, I looked with horror at what was in front of me.  It was the biggest snapping turtle I had ever seen.  

Its head was about 4 inches across, and its mouth was gaping wide open with the top portion of its lip shaped into the biggest hook that I had ever seen.  The shell was about two feet across and I knew if he or she did not want me in its water, that I could soon be missing a body part.  I quickly dropped the fence into the deep as I swam parallel to the shore and then veered twenty feet down stream, before heading to the safety of the shoreline.  Nature had a way of helping me to see that my desires for wealth needed to be tweaked into another plan for later on.  And now I could see that using advanced technology in fishing, I would soon be famous and sought after, it was my Eldorado, that of catching the biggest Northern in the river, that is if it didn’t catch me first.  

Feeling something move under me made me think that perhaps the boulder that I had planted my foot on was not a boulder after all.  Was it indeed the giant snapping turtle that I had encountered a month earlier?  If it was then I might be finding that I would have to go the rest of my life without a leg, or worse!  Panic rose in my brain and all I could think of was to try to get to the safety of the cement platform to my right.  But how could I do that since this moving boulder or snapper was moving downstream in the opposite direction?  I then made a giant leap up the ragging current hoping to reach the cement platform of safety.  But, by doing so I lost my footing and went headfirst into the swift current.  The next thing I knew was that I could not hold on to my rod and reel and hope to stay above the water, so I let my dreams disappear into the white rapids all around me.  Thinking I now could swim towards the dam with both hands free I soon found that I was being taken down river.  Before I knew it, I was about 75 yards downstream and still moving very quickly away from the dam.  My arms started to feel like lead and the weight of my clothes and boots were pulling me under.  In panic I looked towards shore and saw the elderly fisherman hollering at me with all his lungs could muster, “Swim downstream and then swim to shore!” It didn’t make sense to me, but I went against my better judgment (which got me into this trouble in the first place.)  I desperately turned towards shore, it was so hard to do at this point, since now my body was agonizing with pain and my strength was almost gone.  I lifted one arm after another saying to myself, “Just lift your arms, one at a time!”  I forced my body to obey my commands when all it wanted to do was stop and rest, but I knew if I did, I would succumb to the depths of the beckoning river, calling me to its shadowy home.  When I felt that I could go no further, my hand struck the shore bottom.  I then slowly raised my head only to see the older fisherman I seen earlier, extending his hands in an attempt to pull me the rest of the way out of the water.  I grabbed his hands only to fall into the shallow water once again. He came out into the stream to hold me and help my unresponsive legs into remembering how to walk again. Sitting on a dry boulder, I looked up at him, I then made a weak attempt to smile and thank him, but all that came out from my mouth was river water that I was coughing up.  I looked out into the raging water and I knew in my heart that what I attempted to do was all for fleeting fame and glory, and this foolish venture not only cost me my new purchases, but it almost cost me my life as well.  

In the coming days and months I would go over this learning adventure in my mind, many times over.  I was given another chance to look at life through new eyes and a new heart.  Humility did visit me that day, and in many moments of recollection since.  I came to realize that the best way to capture life was not to gather it in one momentous event, but to enjoy its pleasures in the small things of life that many of us see as commonplace.  I also realized that fame is fleeting and like a slippery fish, hard to hold on to.  There are many monsters in life that can either stop us from taking chances or strengthen us in our resolve to be better than what we are today.  One though must learn that these giants are here to teach us to know about our abilities and the limits that are found in testing them.  Wisdom is the child that is given to those that learn the difference.  The greatest gift that is gained is not in the prize that is sought after, but that which has been learned.