There is a term in flyfishing called mending.
An angler ‘mends’ her line when the current is pulling the fly downstream and creating drag.
One expert instructor encourages people to imagine that their line is moving down a sidewalk and that it drifts down into the gutter. He teaches to just lift the line up and swing it back up on the sidewalk. One’s ability to mend effectively on the river can be the difference between consistent hookups and days of frustration.
The expert’s example above prompted a very young cowboy to think more broadly about mends.
Most of us (that should be ‘all’ of us) have had times in our lives when a mend was needed. We’ve strayed from the near perfect pavement and slipped into the gutter. The rocky going when we’re off the path is uncomfortable and unproductive…unless it summons us to a ‘course correction’ or mend.
Maybe God had it all figured out light years ago. He knew that the comfortable, straight and narrow sidewalk would lead to complacency. Perhaps we need to view the ‘gutters’ in our life as signals to make a mend.
The good news is that God is always waiting and willing to help us out of frustration and into a smoother water.
** The picture shows the angler making an upstream mend to limit the drag from troublesome, fast moving currents.
Here’s hoping He’ll be your guide when trouble laden currents flow into the river of your life.
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