Persistence


          Quite possibly the best fishing tool one can possess is persistence.
The fly that does not work today, may be the hottest thing on the river tomorrow. The fish may not be here today, but they are stacked up in the same place tomorrow. Persistence.
          For many years, I have had a hand-lettered, framed piece of calligraphy on my wall called, “Press On.” Let me share it with you.
          “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
          That piece of advice has been the motivating factor in my life for more years than I can remember.
          It still is.
          For the past couple of years, I have been plagued with foot pain. A pinched nerve in my right foot. Nothing – nothing – I did or the podiatrist did was enough to relieve the pain.
          Until today.
          I walked into the doctor’s office with the goal in mind that I was not leaving until I had a plan to relieve the pain. If it meant amputating my foot . . . was that would be one plan. Not my first choice, of course.
          Persistence has paid off.
          There is a passage from Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” The usual application is that when we dialogue with each other, we are changed by that dialogue.
          Turns out, the bone of one toe is rubbing against the bone of another with a nerve caught between them. A simple bit of orthoscopic surgery will be enough to fix all that.
          Persistence. That was the key. It always is.
          So, when a particular fly doesn’t seem to be working, I switch to another. If that one doesn’t work either, I switch again. And when nothing seems to work, well . . . there is always tomorrow.
          Hang in there, babe! God loves us all!
          Doug
  

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Welcome!

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