Learning to Persevere

I love to fish a crankbait, and I love to fish fast.  But I also really like to fish a jig.  Fishing a jig you have to be slower and more methodical.  It goes against my nature to fish slowly but when the situation calls for it I can slow down and fish that way.  However, when I think about it I probably miss situations when I should slow down and fish a jig.  I get in a mode where I fish fast and that’s all I think about, “Where’s the next spot to throw that crankbait, what’s my next casting angle?” and so on.

Over the last year I have really worked on slowing down and fishing better with a jig.   I worked out a sponsorship deal with Atomic Tackle Company and with this partnership I have had to focus on fishing with a jig.  I have worked even harder at learning to fish a football jig over cover.  Slowing down and learning these techniques have really paid off in catching fish.

I could not have learned to fish this way without a lot of practice and patience.  I endured despite losing a bunch of jigs and while trying to figure out what a branch feels versus a fish.  Endurance is one of those things we all need.  Yes, endurance is hard wired into our being but how many people don’t use it, we all know people who quit when things get hard.

Our faith in Christ is no different.  It is easy to follow God in the good times but even easier to turn our backs on him when things get tough.  Matthew 10:22 gives us hope “and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”  When we persevere through the tough times we grow closer to the Lord.  It’s funny how fishing can help my relationship with the Lord; enduring through learning how to work that football jig over cover has helped me to know I can endure through other situations that come my way.