By Jerry Fournier
It’s Friday and you’re at work. Your telephone rings and on the other end is a buddy telling you about the awesome day he had on the water today. He’s telling you he has been tearing them up. “You got to go with me tomorrow man,” he blurts out, “this is one of the best bites I have been on in years, trust me… have faith man!”
The next morning, after an hour with no bites, you begin to wonder if you should have kept that promise to your wife to help around the house today. You wonder if her faith in you has been challenged as much as yours has in your friend’s promises of the “mother load”. But your buddy has come through before… and now he’s asking you to “trust me, just have faith”.
Faith is an interesting thing. I remember fishing as a back-seater in a 2003 Citgo Bassmasters Tour tournament at Clear Lake immediately after a B.A.S.S. Delta tournament a week earlier. I had invested two weeks off of work, two weeks away from my family and a fortune in entry fees, hotels, meals and tackle… all in the rain. Both day partners in the first event didn’t give me the time of day on the water. I finished poorly and was really down going into Clear Lake.
The night before Clear Lake I asked God to bless my next few days after my poor experience on the Delta. Day one I drew Gary Yamamoto…. what a blessing. He was a real gentleman and made sure I had a great day on the water. Though I caught a limit (Gary had three fish) I thought there was no way my small bag of fish would keep me in contention. In my mind I thanked God for this awesome opportunity to fish even if I didn’t finish well. I was shocked when Fish Fishburne weighed my fish and shook my hand with a “nice job Jerry”. I was in eighth place after day one.
Day two was a different story. The pro I had drawn had a much different pattern going and wasn’t too concerned with my chances at winning a boat. At the end of the day I had 4 fish and thought there was no way I’d finish well. As I stood at the weigh-in tanks across from Denny Brauer, I again thanked God for all His blessings no matter what the outcome. Again Fish weighed my bag and I made my way into the crowd disappointed. I was amazed when the crowd congratulated me… I had finished in the top twelve and would fish on day three.
I ended up fishing with Tim Horton on the third day with a camera boat. He was a Great guy who didn’t mind starting off our morning with a prayer. I ended up taking third place and winning a boat. It was a great experience for me and it taught me a lot about my faith and trust in God. I know at times everyone doubts their faith… its only human. This story is a constant reminder to me to follow Him and believe in Him. That is what God is asking from all of us.
On April 1, 2006 there will be a bass tournament held at Folsom Lake. The tournament is called Honor Bound Men of Promise. God will be there. You will see Him in all who are there… it will be a great time. It’s ok if you come to win the bass tournament… but you’ll receive a lot more than that… “trust me”.
God bless,
Jerry
