I spent a good bit of my youth learning the ins and outs of fishing – surf fishing in the ocean, lake fishing from a dinghy or the shore – all because my dad LOVED to fish. He had a specific rod, reel, and bait, for all occasions and situations. My dad tried to get me “hooked” on the sport by wadding bread balls on my hook and dipping them into a pond by our house. Within 3-5 minutes, my general attention span, a wriggling little spot or sunfish would be dangling from my pole. It worked, and also backfired on my dad. From then on, I loved fishing if I caught one within 3-5 minutes, if not, I lost interest. Lucky for my dad, my brother stuck with it a little longer.

When I was young, packing for vacation required lots of space for fishing equipment: rods, rod holders, cast-nets for bait-catching, baskets for scooping sandfleas out of the surf, hand shovels for digging worms, coolers for the bait, tacklebox and all its accessories, and of course several 5-gallon buckets for the massive amounts of fish that would be caught.

Boy could my charismatic dad draw a crowd. With all his fishing gear, it set up like quite the fancy operation. Kids from all over the beach would come to find out what was happening. My dad would not only engage them by showing and telling them about everything, but he also introduced them to sandfleas and how to dig for them, let them catch and hold bait fish, and let them look at and touch his “catches” in the bucket. He was a star. I was so proud.

My dad became a believer in Jesus when I was 12 years old. As is often the case, as a father follows Jesus, his family sees the excitement and benefits from the overflow of the Spirit from him, and on Father’s Day of 1979, our family of 4 was baptized together as followers of Jesus.

Immediately, my father took his fishing to a whole new level. Jesus said to the 4 fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James and John, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”(Matthew 4:19). My dad took that same charge and began sharing Jesus with anyone and everyone. His joy was so deep and compelling that he couldn’t help but share! We used to joke that even the cashiers at a busy grocery store were not safe from being soaked in the good news of the gospel if my dad was going through the line. When you are a teenager, it can make for some awkward moments, but there are SO MANY people who are in heaven now because my dad was intentional about sharing the treasure he had received. As Christ followers, we are challenged by the apostle Paul to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (I Peter 3:15-17) This was how my daddy lived – except people didn’t have to ask, he just offered! 😊 He shared his time, experiences, and faith, as well as equipment and how to use it: Bibles, invitations to church so that people could learn what it meant to follow Jesus, and reading materials to further whet their appetite for the joy, hope, peace, and salvation that Jesus offers.

My dad’s favorite joy was studying about the second coming of Christ. Dad’s eyes would dance as he talked about His Savior coming at the sound of the trumpet and he listened for that trumpet every single day! “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

While dad was on earth, he never heard the trumpet call, but he did this past week, as he left this place and met the Lord in the air. I can only imagine my dad’s face when he finally beheld his Savior! It makes my heart dance to think of it. So, while I grieve in my waiting period before I see my dad again, I revel in the lessons he taught me – share your best treasure, the love of Jesus, with everyone. Throw out the bait of His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. It catches the attention and souls of those who are floundering about, and brings them safely and securely to the Father.

I know my dad heard “His master say to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matthew 25:21) He was a star, and I’m so proud. I’ll miss you, Daddy, but until I see you again I will try to carry on your fishing legacy.