Searching for Fish, Jobs, and Love

When I looked out the cabin window this morning, I noticed the now-familiar haze in the air. I could also tell by the smooth surface of the lake that there would be little wind to contend with on our fishing exploits today.

Since this is Leah’s final day to fish (she only bought a 3-day license), we took her out to Pike Bay. Every fisherman or woman in our family should have at least one trip each year through the peaceful channel to take in the cattails and lilies while ducking under the bridges.

The problem was, we hadn’t found any hotspots on Pike Bay yet this year. I turned on my Garmin and we hit many of our old spots–Triple Rock, Bluegill, Pike Perch, Crappie Too, and Perchy McPerch. We went even farther south, near the reeds to try out luck. We had gotten an early start since Chloe wanted us out of the cabin as she had a phone interview. But after three hours, all we had to show for all of our searching was two perch.

It was noon and I said, “Let’s try one more spot. We haven’t been to Paul Perch in a long time.” Paul Perch, named after cousin Paul who initially found the hotspot, is a perch hole discovered several years back. Our persistence paid off and we pulled in ten more perch, several that were good-sized, in the next hour. Leah also caught a little sunfish to brighten our day and I had a nice Northern Pike up to the boat…but it flipped and got away.

I thought about Chloe, back at the cabin, filling out job applications and having interviews, and realized that searching for a job is much like searching for fish. You can throw your line down time and time again, and come up with nothing. But when you throw it in the right spot, eventually you’ll find what you’re looking for. Later in the afternoon, Chloe received her first job offer (from the morning interview)! It’s a nice confidence booster and gives her much to think about.

Chloe and I spent the afternoon browsing the shops of Bemidji. Leah stayed back at the cabin to study for her Music Therapy Board certification test, something she’s been doing often on this vacation.

The shops closed at 5:00, so Tom and Leah met us at Bar 209 downtown for an early supper and happy hour. The walleye tacos did not disappoint!

Back at the resort I took a walk and listened to my book. When I arrived back at the cabin, I joined the others in watching 500 Days of Summer, a sweet love story about finding “the right one”. Three of my four kids are still searching for and hoping to find their life partner…if that’s what God intends for them. They’ve each had a few “throwbacks” and some that got away. But there are still “many fish in the sea,” as they say. 😊

I pray that one day they’ll find their keepers. As I did.