Thursday; October 18

Last weekend I got to participate in something called “Cops And Bobbers” where our local deputies took some kids fishing.  First of all I have to say that you just can’t go wrong with kids, cops, donuts, BBQ and fishing – that combination just couldn’t fail!  It was great to see the law enforcement officers interact with (and be impacted by) the children.  Yet, as I reflect back on the day, I may have gotten more out of the event than did the children because it was a good reminder about the process of learning and teaching.  Many of the young people and never fished before, so we had to start at the beginning.  We had to talk them through what we were going to do, show them how to do it, help them practice the techniques and even do a little coaxing when it came time for some of the ickier parts of the process – like handling the worms or taking the fish off of the hook.  Through the morning there was some pouting and shrieking.  There were lines tangled in the trees and hooks imbedded in various places.  We had to clean worm-dirt and blood (mostly mine) off of hands.  Yet, in spite of all the challenges, everyone learned something new and everyone had fun.
As I thought about spending the morning teaching children how to fish it got me to thinking about how we should be teaching others about how to live.  It is easy to forget that our young people aren’t born with innate knowledge – they have to be taught and developed.  New leaders don’t instinctively have a sense of maturity, it is something that must be fostered.  We can either get frustrated when they don’t seem to be “getting” it on our timeline or we can instruct them in what they need to do, show them how do it and help them do it on their own ... and then applaud their successes and development.
Are we willing to help out the next generation?  It is bound to be helpful ... and if we aren’t careful, it just might turn out to be fun.
Think About It!

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