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Outdoor Truths: Aiming Outdoorsmen Toward Christ Feb 2nd
Growing up in a non hunting/fishing home may have kept me from taking for granted this great privilege. Today I’m more enthused about the outdoors than any other time in my life. There is still so much to learn about it all. My recent fishing trips have reminded me of this. There are very few fishermen who go after more than one or two species. Most bass fishermen are just that; bass fisherman. Whether it’s February or August, they are still pursuing that bass. Walleye fishermen are set on finding walleye. And the list goes on. But in order to expand our horizon we must be willing to forget the past, ignore our inability, and set out to learn. To learn, however, is dangerous. It exposes our weaknesses and makes us vulnerable. It highlights the fact that we are not the super outdoorsman that others may think we are. Sometimes we are unwilling to learn because we too, were not raised in that particular environment and thus, we are unwilling to try. To fail to learn means that we’re going to fall behind. Here’s an example……
Several years ago, I took a fishing trip to Alabama. We actually went to crappie fish, but it was slow so that we reverted to catching bass. At that time I had never heard of a Carolina rig. Very few had. But I was introduced to the “hows” while I was there. I caught fish but the method was very awkward for someone who was raised “Texas” style. I decided to leave that technique in Alabama. Little did I know that soon after that, the Carolina boom would begin. At home tournaments began to be won with a Carolina rig but I stubbornly held to my Texas style worm. My convictions sounded good but they were convictions with no substance. I simply refused to forget the past and learn.
We all can bring up past pain. We can wallow in the pit of our bad childhood or corrupt environment or a host of other things. And while these are real, they don’t have to control our life now. We can choose to adapt and overcome or stubbornly hold on to the ways of the past. And it’s all in being willing to learn and expose our weaknesses so that others can show us a new and better way.

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