ONE LAST FISHING TRIP
by BJ Reese
Very often, the Light of God’s enormous Love for us shines into our lives from the most unexpected sources, or at the most unexpected times. Such was the case in April, 2011, shortly before my older brother, Jim, died. Our home was filled with loved ones, gathered here to say good-bye to Jim and to support his girlfriend and me in any way they could.
Over the years, our family has come to include many people who are not related by blood, but in our hearts. We’ve come to think of them as adopted children and grandchildren – loved every bit as much as those linked to us by birth. Once such group is Tim and Amy, their 16 year-old son Bailey, and their 13 year-old daughter, Cathy. Like many siblings, Bailey and Cathy bicker about things a lot. The week before my brother died, however, they continually reflected God’s compassion and caring toward our family. Sometimes, they did so in amazingly creative ways . . .
One of Jim’s great passions was fishing. He loved to get out to one of the local lakes, and drift around on the water. His joy came more from being there than it did from the fishing itself. Whenever possible, he and Richard would spend whole days out in Jim’s boat, enjoying the serenity of the lake. Toward the end of summer, 2010, Jim had promised Bailey that he’d take him fishing sometime during the summer of 2011. Bailey was looking forward to the opportunity.
As Spring of 2011 approached, Jim’s thoughts often turned to being able to go fishing again. By early April, however, it became obvious that he wouldn’t have the strength to go. His illness had made him so weak, he rarely got out of bed. That didn’t stop him from thinking about it, though. One day, while Amy’s brother, Al, was here helping Jim clean his room, Jim mentioned his beloved boat again. “I promised Bailey I’d take him fishing this year!” he said, sadly realizing he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise.
“Oh, I think Bailey will understand, Uncle Jim,” Al reassured him. Still, he could see how much it was bothering Jim. He’d always tried to be a man of his word, and to keep his promises to people. Later, Al related Jim’s concern over the promised fishing trip to Bailey and his family. Not much was said about it at the time, but it would soon become obvious that Bailey had remembered it.
By April 20, we were awaiting the arrival of several family members from out of town. Our younger brother, Ed, and his family were coming on the 23rd; and my three sons were arriving the 24th and 25th. Jim had expressed a desire to see them all, and they’d arranged to all get time off during the same week . . . no small feat, considering 2 of the boys are in the military. While I awaited the arrival of our company, Amy’s family and Al spent a great deal of time here, helping me get ready for their visit. Al pitched in to help with Jim’s care, which was a great deal of comfort to us both.
Friday afternoon, Bailey came up to me with a big grin on his face. “Grandma! I figured out how to take Uncle Jim fishing!” he said excitedly.
Knowing the severity of Jim’s weakened condition, I was curious how Bailey proposed to pull this idea off. As I listened, he proceeded to lay out his plan. When he was finished, I told him I thought it was a wonderful idea. Cathy even got into the act, offering to help Bailey put his plan into action. He graciously accepted her offer, and they agreed to implement the plan Saturday afternoon.
When their family arrived at our house Saturday morning, Bailey was out running some errands. Tim sat down at the kitchen table and began cutting out some pictures Bailey had printed from his computer: rainbow trout, brown trout, bass, walleye, pike.......an assortment of lake fish, printed in bright, lifelike colors. While Tim worked meticulously with the scissors, Cathy sat across the table and began building “fishing poles”. She tied long, carefully-measured pieces of embroidery thread to the ends of two chopsticks. Once satisfied that they were securely fastened, she carefully tied a paper clip to the end of each length of thread. Voila! Two fishing poles – specially created for taking a bedridden man on one last fishing trip before he died.
While the rest of us sat there, admiring Cathy’s creativeness, she explained Bailey’s plan to us. “Bailey will sit on the bed with Uncle Jim – that’ll be the boat. I’ll sit on the floor with all the fish – that’ll be the lake. When they cast their lines into the “water”, I’ll clip a fish to the end of the thread, using the paper clip. Then I’ll tug on the string, so they know they got a bite!” She fairly beamed with pride and excitement as she told us how it would work. I was awestricken that two teenagers would willingly indulge in such a profound game of pretend with a 66 year-old man – strictly in the hope of bringing him some joy in his final days. It was, indeed, an impressive plan.
When Bailey returned in the early afternoon, Cathy proudly showed off the fishing poles she’d made. He was pleased with her efforts, and told her they’d work just fine. After he’d filled his mom in on his progress with the errands he’d run, he looked at Cathy. “Let’s go fishing!” he said happily. He asked his dad to come with them, in case Jim needed help sitting up to cast his line into the water. The rest of us waited upstairs.
A little while later, the three of them came back up to the kitchen. Bailey and Cathy were beaming. “He laughed, Grandma! He laughed!” they chimed. This simple statement was extraordinary news; Jim was so weak, he hadn’t smiled or laughed in weeks.
Cathy said she’d made sure that Uncle Jim had caught the biggest and prettiest fish. “He really had fun!” she said cheerfully. She and Bailey both seemed extremely pleased with the success of their idea. The joy on their faces lit up the kitchen, and brought all of us a special joy. It was easy to see how much fun they’d had doing this simple thing for Jim. Then Cathy got another idea, and asked me where the tape was. When I showed her, she took it downstairs. She wanted to hang Jim’s “trophies” up where he could see them from his bed.
Later that day, while I was visiting with Jim, he told me how cool his fishing trip was. He loved what the kids had done for him. Bailey and Cathy had given him a very special gift, and brought him a moment of great joy. My heart overflowed for him – and for them – for the extraordinary gift they had shared.
Bailey and Cathy had brought a moment of peace and joy into Jim’s life during a time when there was almost nothing left for him to smile about. Even more surprising was what the experience had done for their relationship. I watched for days as they spoke to each other with affection, understanding, and respect – instead of the cranky, critical tones I usually heard between them. They’d learned a precious lesson about how important it is to show people how much we care, while we still have the chance.
Five days later, when Jim died, the memory of their gift to him became an exceptional treasure for all of us. For me, it is a constant reminder of the many wondrous ways in which God expresses His Love for us. For as long as I live, I will never forget the kindness and compassion of their creative, loving gesture.
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