Today was the second day we went fishing on the Russian River since opening day earlier this week. For some reason, I haven’t been a big fan of nor fully enjoyed fishing on this river. Most people love it! Not me. Does that make me weird? Maybe! You know what, that’s okay because I’ve been learning to embrace being different, being me.
On opening day, three of my family members and I went fishing. I had seriously considered staying home and having time to myself, but some of that guilty feeling set in. It’s over 2.5-hour drive, or more depending on traffic and road construction. The limit for reds (red salmon) Sockeye, is 3. If we were to each get our limit, that would be 12 fish, which would provide us with several meals.
When we got to the river, we didn’t walk far. I was grateful for that for I have a challenging time walking on uneven surfaces, walking along the riverbank having all kinds of rocks to potentially trip or slip on, depth perception and not always being able to tell where the water is deeper.
All said and done, my family and I were there for about 3 hours or so and we got our limit, yay! This sent a more positive vibe and tone for me, yet I still wasn’t convinced, nor did I have buy in. Did I have more fun this time? Of course. Like I said, this isn’t one of my favorites to go.
We got home and processed the fish. It’s so nice to have everyone help and get the job done. It got to be a late night, but so worth it for we had our first fish of the season in the freezer.
I had to work the next day and felt a little more tired out but made it through. My husband mentioned about going again (today, Friday June 16th). He said he didn’t mind going by himself, just for something to get out and do. Guilt set in again. I probably better go along for the ride, help net fish and in case he may get tired and want to switch off driving.
We got a somewhat early start as we left the house before 8:00 this morning. The earlier the better, I thought, before it gets hoppin’ and the river gets busy with all kinds of people lined up along the riverbank.
Rain, the whole drive down.
When we parked the car in the parking lot, the rain turned to a light mist and stopped raining for most of the time we were there. Good timing, I thought. Maybe God shut off the sprinklers for a while so we wouldn’t get soaking wet.
We got our gear on and headed down the walkway and path. Along the way, we stopped to see if we were able to see any fish. There weren’t a lot, some, so tried fishing in different places along the way. Our fishing adventure took us a little bit farther up the river, which means I had more river walking to go.
Up and down the riverbank we went. We had some incline and step up, over and around some tree roots, then back to the waterfront, grassy areas, water and rocks. Around this one area was a tree where I needed to step up to climb up a bit, then gradually sloped downward again.
Before the tree, I remember finding a fly hook and weights in the water. I stopped to reach my hand in the water to pick them up and put them in my wader’s pocket. Once secure, I navigated my way up and stood next to the tree. Once my husband saw me, he kept on going.
A few seconds after stepping up and walking along the path, my right foot slipped from underneath me. I lost my balance. There I was free falling from the ridge along the river. Somehow my body perfectly positioned itself while catching air from what I thought was about 10 feet above the river but thinking it may be closer to 7 feet.
At this point, I accepted my fate as I had slipped and fallen into the river. There was nothing I could do to stop myself from falling so why fight it and let things fall into place the way they were meant to (please excuse the pun here). A bit of humor needs to be inserted.
When I landed, I fell face forward into the water, my whole front side flat, SPLAT! Yes, my face went in the water, and water went down my waders, the ends of my sleeves were soaking wet and managed to keep my backpack from getting wet, other than the straps on the front side.
During this time, I was not scared, nor afraid, anxious or nothing. I had NOTHING to fear for I knew God was with me during this time. At the time of my fall, I had my fishing pole and net in my right hand. Both survived the fall, and miraculously didn’t break. Those two things were my biggest concern when I fell in the water.
After lifting my head up and out of the water, I realized I had lost my hold on both the fishing pole and net. I saw the net floating down the river. The nice bright orange color made it easy to see. I wasn’t sure if my fishing pole would fare so well. In no time at all, it dropped below the surface, underneath the ripples of the water. Not being visible, nor being able to get my eyes focused on the fishing pole and hurried as fast as my legs would carry me through the water.
There it was! My fishing pole popped up long enough for me to grab hold of it. Now, for my net! Gosh, it kept going. The tip of my fishing pole got stuck on a tree branch, which was a blessing in disguise. When I found out it was stuck good, I left it right where it was at because it probably wasn’t going to be going anywhere.
By this time, my husband had turned around and headed back my way. He heard quite the splash so came to see what was happening. Unknown to him, it was I who had taken the time to test the waters, so to speak, in a series of unfortunate events.
Finally, I made my way to the net. Almost tripping and falling in, I was able to grab hold of the net. With the net in hand and my husband holding the fishing pole, I was relieved I hadn’t lost either one. I stood in the water for a little while and him asking if I was alright. I wanted to get all emotional and cry, but I didn’t. Would you like to know why? Well, okay!
Behind me, there were two other men walking. I’m not sure if they had seen what happened and just kept quiet and kept on walking, or if they didn’t see my falling into the river at all. More than anything, I felt embarrassed, how could I let this happen? Why wasn’t I more aware of where I was walking? I felt worthless and totally ashamed of myself for having made such a fool!
All ugly, hurtful, hateful, talk about me and wrong doings. I felt miserable! I moaned and groaned and said how I should have stayed home! I’m not much (if any) help at all, just making extra work. I kept telling myself all the reasons I wasn’t worth it, why I didn’t matter. My actions were an embarrassment.
Through it all, I knew this was the enemy’s tactics trying to bring me down and have a completely miserable time. He knows how misery loves company so he was doing his best to plot his best schemes on me, trying to tell me who I wasn’t.
I believe in God and the presence of the Holy Spirit. I do believe there was an intercession, a protection throughout this whole situation.
Let me take a step back now and talk about my fall into the water. There are some things I haven’t yet told you. You might be wondering how I am feeling or if I had any injuries from my fall.
When my husband asked if I was okay, I really didn’t know what to say. I was, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t physically hurting anyway, only mentally and psychologically.
Okay, so my freefall into the water, when I had absolutely no control over anything. I trusted in God that whatever was meant to be, to happen, would be perfectly executed in His timing and happen. I believed this circumstance, this moment in my life, had meaning and purpose. He knew I would reflect on this experience and share out into the world.
When I fell flat into the water, face submerged, no part of my body was hurt, resulted in injury or having any bruises. The biggest piece in all this happening is falling into water that was probably 12” to maybe 18” (at the very most) deep. The rocks weren’t very far below the surface of the water. Not once did I feel any rocks touch my body. I ONLY felt the water, nothing else! To me, it’s a miracle I didn’t lay there with injuries. It is by the grace of God nothing major happened to me.
There is no other explanation than it being the presence of God, the angels He sent to watch over me this day. It’s like my body never reached down as far of the rocks and God had a safety net (or His arms) for me to fall right into. I knew He was with me. I knew He was there.
I thought to myself, is this what it was like to be with Jesus and walk on water?
This experience has made me realize even more the importance of believing in, trusting, and having faith. Had I not put my falling into His hands, knowing this was beyond my control, the results may have very well been much different.
At the end of the day, I needed to search and find His word that accurately depicts and reflects on what He has done in my life today. The ones I feel most strongly about and have a deeper connection are as follows:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV)
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9, ESV)
“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.” (Psalm 37:5, ESV)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10, NIV).
“I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me.” (John 10:14, ESV)
“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NIV)
“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:8, NIV)
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14, NIV)
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD Himself, is the Rock eternal.” (Isaiah 26:3-4, NIV)
Will I go back out fishing again? Of course I will! This is not going to stop me from getting out, spending time in nature with family during this short season of summer in Alaska. We are making the drive down again tomorrow (3 of us this time), and then again on Monday as they are raising the limit from 3 fish per day to 6 fish per day per person! We’ll see what adventures He provides us with when the moment comes, and valuable lessons to be learned.
Magnificent Meraki 