Many of you know my son Nate, who sells his notecards on the sponsor classifieds. He's still producing some great pieces of art. Last fall he began selling the cards as a way to earn money for fishing gear and to support charities he loves. Throughout the fall, many of you purchased his artwork or commissioned him to draw unique art for you.
As a father, I'm so thrilled by what he's learning through this entrepreneur endeavor. And how he's learning the finer points of what I call "Share, Save, Spend" (an idea my wife and I have taught our boys in dealing with finances). He shares no less than 10% of all earnings (50% on sales of his cards); Saves no less than 10%, and the rest is available for spending. Both our boys are incredible savers and sharers.
And this forum has bolstered this life lesson. I'm so thankful.
Well, recently, our family was invited by my in-laws to go with them to Belize to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. What a trip! And on that trip, they provided us all with a chance to go deep sea fishing... You can imagine Nate's excitement.
The day of, he was dreaming of catching a dorado or a marlin. He couldn't stop talking about it. On the boat, captain Mike gave us a full run down of the day and what to expect. He hoped to get us on a variety of fish and opportunities to catch some big fish. We shared with Mike about Nate's passion for fishing and he said, "you'll get some chances to reel in some fun fish." He was right...
Both our sons hauled in many tuna and the rest of us had the chance to do a little reeling too. But the best part of the day was at the end, the very last catch.. It had been about 2 hours since the last time we reeled in a fish. Everyone else on the boat (8 of us) was distracted by the sun burning our delicate skin, but Nate was glued to lines in the water. He looked a little bummed out, but still thrilled to be in this place. He sipped on cold Sprite and said, "Dad, do you think we'll catch anything else?"
I said, "I hope so, buddy," while whispering a little prayer in my heart. Please, Lord, just one more.
(Now, I am a praying man and I give God all the glory for what happened next.)
Not 3 seconds later and WHAM! The line zipped off the reel as if on fire and he jumped into the chair before anyone knew what was going on. The guides knew it was big and looked up at us as if to say, "are you sure you want him to reel this one in?" Everyone, including his big brother said, "YOU GOT THIS NATE!" We all knew this was his fish and the joy of watching him work would be worth the memory for years to come.
They settled him in and before long had the strap secured around his shoulders. (Remember, he just turned 10.) With a confidence like I've never seen, he began reeling like a professional fisherman that had been doing this for years. The guides were amazed and just smiled. They assisted as much as he needed, but many times just watched in fascination.
20 minutes later, a sore back and arms, Nate watched as the fish was hauled into the boat. It wasn't a dorado or a marlin, but it was just as good on the dinner plate that night and he'll always carry around this nickname for sure... 'Cuda Kid.
When all said and done, I said to Nate, "do you remember when you asked me if we were 'gonna catch anything else?' Well, I said a prayer right after that and asked for a little help." He looked up and smiled and whispered, "So did I."
Yeah, I'm a praying man. And I don't believe that God necessarily gives us everything we ask for, He's not a "genie in a bottle." But He obviously was listening to one of us that day. What a thrill and what a joy to watch both of my sons as they learn how to navigate their way through life.
Here's to many days ahead on the water with hope of catching a lunker with the ones we love.
