Faith in the Wilderness

On a recent backpacking trip with my son, Chris, I discovered that fishing is never the same in the same spot, even using the same lures. We had fished this incredible high mountain lake in the Soldier mountain area of the Frank Church Wilderness. I was using a Panther Martin lure- bright yellow with black dots and a red feather skirt at the base near the hooks. Within a span of an hour I must have landed close to twenty fish. I took so many (and threw them back) that we jokingly said I Pantherized them. After fishing for several hours we packed up and hiked to another lake where we spent the night. The next day after bushwacking to another lake, we returned to this same lake. The water was crystal clear. You could see the trout swimming around nabbing a fly here or there. However try as I might, they would not even acknowledge the panther. Cast after cast after cast and no takers. I began using a variety of lures. I think I tried just about everything in my arsenal. The end result is that we caught only a few fish, and none of them on that yellow panther martin.

I was reminded just how fast things change. Same lake, same fish, same lure, different results. What I needed was a new lure. Something fresh, perhaps a different color scheme.

I used to write and color in my Bible a lot. I have several Bibles filled with sermon notes, Bible study insights, and quiet time reflections. I don't write or color in my Bible anymore. Things change, and change rapidly, and when they do, a note or color or an insight a year or so old may not be of any assistance. By focusing my attention towards what I had read and understood previously, it may actually hinder the word from God I need to hear from getting through to me. If every minute of every day is truly a fresh page, I found I need a fresh page of scripture, to be able to hear a fresh word.