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It
was a warm Saturday morning in Montpelier, Idaho. I
had worked all week and was thinking about passing on
my much-needed yard work for a day of fishing. I'd
never been to this particular reservoir before, but
had always thought about going there. Some of my
customers at the feed store had told me how to get
there, but it wasn't what most people would consider
an easy trip.
Working around the yard that morning, it wasn't until
2 p.m. that I finally convinced myself I needed to
stop and head for the reservoir. I called my
brother-in-law, Ron, and invited him to join me. I
didn't bother to tell him our destination until I
picked him up. He agreed to my unexpected offer, so I
threw my equipment into my old blue Jeep and headed
over to Ron's place.
"It's way too late to try and find it," he said when I
finally announced where we were headed. But he still
went along anyway.
Driving without benefit of a map or exact directions,
we drove down the highway until we came to a dirt
road, where I turned off. After another ten miles we
finally came to a fork in the road - I simply turned
without any hesitation.
"How'd you know which way to turn?" Ron asked.
"I'm not sure," I replied.
That probably reinforced Ron's reluctance as he kept
insisting that it was getting way too late to even try
and get some fishing in. Another five miles passed,
another fork in the road came, and yet another
unhesitant turn didn't help Ron's confidence in me. He
was convinced we were going to get lost.
Finally, at sunset, we crested a small hill and were
greeted by the sight of a beautiful reservoir. With
the exception of one little, topless Jeep parked near
the water, there was no one else around for miles. We
would have the entire lake to ourselves.
When we approached the other Jeep, a young man happily
greeted us. He was there with his wife and their
newborn baby, and their car battery was dead. They had
no matches to build a fire, no coats, and there was
only one thin blanket for the baby. He had been very
worried, knowing that his wife and baby wouldn't make
it through the night if he had walked out the many
miles for help. And since it was getting dark, he
might even have gotten lost.
The
young man told us he had just had the Jeep overhauled
and was out with his family for the day. After the
battery died, he had decided to stay with his family
and simply hope that someone would come along.
Ron
and I got out our battery cables and gave his Jeep a
jump-start. He profusely thanked us, and they left for
home.
As
we watched them drive off, Ron turned to me. "You
still want to fish?"
"No" was all I said. We got back in our own Jeep and
followed them out to make sure they got home safely.
That was over thirty years ago. I have never returned
to that reservoir, and I am not even sure if it's
still there. But there is one thing I am sure about:
the Lord answered a father's prayers through my love
for fishing. |
