River Realization

One Summer, a young man visited me from Texas. His name was Jeremiah Dollgener. I had met Jeremiah when he was ten years old. I was attending Bible College in Texas at the time and ministering at a church near the Red River. Largemouth bass fishing is excellent in North Texas and I introduced Jeremiah to the activity. He was just a little kid in a small town looking for something to do. I didn’t have any children at the time and saw it as a good opportunity to invest in a kid’s life. Through our bass fishing trips, Jeremiah learned about fishing and faith. (Jeremiah eventually attended Bible College and Seminary. He and his wife Jessica served as missionaries in Uganda, and eventually returned to the States to serve a church in North Texas).

I believe Jeremiah was twenty or so when he came to visit. My son, Jake was about nine. We went down to Gary’s cabin and spent the day fishing. It was a hot one. The fish were biting and we had a blast. In the heat of mid-day, I waded out to take a rest on the porch of the cabin. There was a porch swing and rope rail. I rested my feet on the rope rail and gently swung myself back and forth as a mild breeze enhanced the amenable shade. What I saw from this vantage was a large man fishing beside a little boy. A knot formed in my throat. The man standing in the river was the little boy I taught to fish when I lived in Texas. The little boy at that man’s side was my own son, Jacob. Where did the time go? I blinked and Jeremiah grew up. I would blink again and my boy would be a man. Time became a more precious commodity to me that day. I’ve blinked a few times since. My son Jake IS a man, leading men of all ages on fishing and hunting adventures vocationally.