I went fishing this morning with my buddy TK. He is leaving in the morning for Montana to spend the summer there. We watched the sun begin to come up while sitting in rocking chairs on my front porch and admired God’s handiwork for a few moments prior to heading to our favorite fishing hole.
TK remarked about how much it meant to him to watch the sun come up and see the sun’s rays pierce through the misty morning and illuminate the woods with glorious light. (I’m paraphrasing.) He said that it was something very special to him and was his favorite thing to do.
I concurred.
He said he guessed that it might be the last time we fished the Honey Lake ponds together. I suspect he is right. By the time he returns from Montana this fall, Honey Lake should be sold and we will have moved back to somewhere on the ocean in south Florida.
As we fished together I thought about how much more enjoyable life is when it is shared with friends. Good friends are difficult to come by and should be cherished as a fine possession. Leaving our friends at Honey Lake and the Tallahassee/Thomasville/Greenville/Madison/Valdosta/Perry community is the most difficult thing about this move.
My wife and I thought we would live out our lives here at Honey Lake, but God had other plans. To be sure I will continue to stay in touch with friends and visit as my schedule permits, but it will not be the same as living in the same community.
I have sat many times together with TK in duck and turkey blinds as well as fishing boats and watched the sun come up together. We’ve hunted deer together, ridden in quail hunting buggies, and eaten hot meals after the hunt. I’ve cheered him on as he underwent various trials with his health and he has done likewise. We have gone to church together and talked about God and the Bible extensively.
God has said that we need friends, using a metaphor of iron sharpening iron. We should be pretty sharp because we have become iron men.
I will miss him and his wife Ginger greatly, but I look forward to the plans that God has for Teresa and me as we chart a different course with God as our navigator.
Our goodbyes this morning were simple. No tears or wringing of the hands. I said, “Well I’ll see you later”, and he responded, “Yep, take it easy”, and that was it. He is not going to the moon and neither am I and we will see each other again; if not in this life then throughout eternity. We are both dead certain of that.
There won’t be sunrises in heaven because there is no darkness, but I bet the fishing is great! Just imagine Jesus joining us for a few moments and laughing and enjoying our fellowship together. Maybe we can convince Him to cook up some of those fish as He did for the disciples. Yum!
Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
June 2, 2015 – Click here to listen