Most of my fishing experiences as a youth were either alone or with the gang that made up "Ford's Woods." What I learned about fishing came from the same sources. I can remember, as a youth, the day that I was bit by the bass bug. Even though I had never been to the lake, the levee was known to be full of largemouth. And even though it was still in my small town, for a kid who either walked or rode his bicycle everywhere, it was a little further away than I was use to going. One summer morning however, we made the trip to the levee for my first attempt at catching a bass. I don't exactly remember how I got the information but I would be using as bait a red plastic worm. That day marked two distinct changes that, to this day, still affect my fishing. First, it brought a love for that particular game fish and second, it made me learn to love the plastic worm. I caught five keeper bass on that first day. When I did start going to the lake as an older youth and a young adult, I can never remember not throwing a plastic worm. In fact that's the only bait I ever used. While others were cranking and spinning, I was patiently and methodically throwing that worm. It is still my favorite bait today.
Much like that famous first day of bass fishing, there are other markers in all of our lives that changed us forever. Some of those markers were happy moments and some were unhappy and even tragic. But all of them are significant. They are significant because when you put them together, over the years, you see a pattern. It's a pattern of how God has worked in our lives even when we didn't realize He was there. Even something as simple as a first fishing trip can become a story that you are reading right now. Nothing is insignificant to God. If we will let Him, He will take every moment of our lives, no matter how good or bad, and use it to make us and the ones around us better. So today, look around and notice what it is that you are dealing with right now. I promise, whatever it is, it is not just filler for other things in your life. It might be the glue that ends up holding it all together.