|
Another Rockbridge Fishing Story by Stan Bower
Here is another fishing story that came from the Rockbridge Weekend Getaway. This one involves a life, caught up by the Spirit and changed forever … the best kind of fishing story of all.
Let me tell you about a man that I met playing golf in early ’06 – let’s say his name is Bob. You ask, “What about Bob?” Well, this past month, after years of spiritual fishing, we actually went fly fishing at our annual Fly Fishing Retreat at Rockbridge in southern Missouri. It was quite a gang: Tony Kalinowski (chief cook and organizer); Rob Short (new waders); Jay Peters (a watcher of fishermen); Dr. David Knight (resident shrink); Jim Matush (fly rod expert and experienced fisherman); Bob (snoopy pole) and me, Stan. The long, relaxed drive allowed time for Bob to share the stuff of his life with Rob. What an outing -- we slept, talked, ate, fished, slept, talked, ate and fished. Then we did it all over again! As the pressure subsided and Bob rested, the Spirit began to work. The retreat provided a safe place for all the men to take the load off their shoulders. Each man connected and let go of some of their heavy baggage. Bob felt rested and relieved …”R & R”. Each man played a part. Now it was time to head back to St. Louis. Jay drove Bob home and for 3 hours they drove, talked, drove and talked - Bob did most of the talking. The most important part was Jay listening to a man’s heart, as Rob also did on the drive down.
A few days later on Thursday, at our normal discussion group, I pressed in a little with Bob in attendance. After the meeting, Bob became a born-again fisherman right there in the parking lot . . .Wow! God used each fisherman as a part of this process. This only took 3 years, countless hours, much prayer and a man going through the financial ringer … and now the eternal reward.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
I am the bait and Jesus is the hook; thank you all for being the line and the pole.
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” 1 Cor. 3:6 – without the monthly support of the faithful to CBMC, I would not be able to fish.
Thanks for giving.
|
