I took the kids fishing for Father’s Day. To anyone driving past I looked like any normal dad having fun with his family. But what no one would know at first glance is that my heart was sad. Fishing was my last happy memory with Josiah. In the late afternoon of August 24th 2014(Josiah’s Birthday) Grandpa and I took the kids to our neighborhood pond. The warm glow of a late summer sun and the joy on the kid’s faces as they reeled in their first fishes, is a memory I’ll never forget. One of those perfect moments you treasure as a father. As I reflect on this afternoon I realize it was God’s gift of sunshine before the storm rolled in.
Fishing will always make me sad. An experience I will never be able to share with Josiah. I couldn’t take him with me yesterday. He would have loved it at almost 3 years of age. I wasn’t able to see the joy on his face as he reeled in his first fish. Fishing with Josiah was taken from me and so so much more.
I’m sharing this today, in honor of the fathers who are missing someone when they fish.
Happy Father’s Day to those who have lost much.
-Jesse