Cheryl and I just celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary on June 3. We celebrated that time with some very special friends, Charlie & Debbie Kalb, at their magnificent home in Holmes Beach, FL on Anna Maria Island. We have known the Kalbs for twenty years and they have been one of our strongest supporters and encouragers.
On the last day that we were in Florida Charlie decided we would go tarpon fishing sense he knew I loved to fish. He hired two young guides and we left at 6:30 AM to search for these magnificent silver fish. It didn’t take long, after catching the baitfish, to locate a school of tarpon. It was some site to see these beautiful fish breaking the water as they swam in large schools. I was the first to catch one that weighed about 85 pounds and it took 45 minutes to get it to the boat. These fish are very strong and determined. At one point into this very tiring fight Charlie had to grab me by the belt to sturdy me. It is always helpful to have somebody alongside you to help. We eventually got the tarpon to the side of the boat and released it unharmed. I never caught a bass that fought like that.
A little while later Charlie hooked a giant tarpon that was a lot bigger than mine and he was in for the fight of his life with this fish. Every time it looked like Charlie was gaining a little ground this tarpon would make a strong run back away from the boat to his school. One of our guides kept saying. “He just will not leave that school”. After fighting this fish for 1 hour and fifteen minutes the line broke and the tarpon went free. Needless to say, Charlie was very tired and at points in that battle I had to grab him by the belt and sturdy him, just as he had done for me.
What an awesome picture this episode shows of the power of encouragement and unity, and I am mainly alluding to the tarpon. I can just imagine the other tarpon in that school encouraging the one with the hook in his mouth. They were encouraging him (with their presence and actions) to not give up. They were actually a protection for him and eventually were probably the main reason that he got free. Brig and Charlie have taught for years the importance of being around successful people that will encourage you. That is what major functions are all about. We have a lot of people out there with a hook in their mouth and they need to see and be around successful encouragers. They need to know that freedom is possible if they hang around the right people and just don’t give up.
There is a scripture in Joel 2:7 that talks about a great army and says, “They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks“. There is just something about the safety and anointing of a group of people that have joined together for a single purpose and are following the commands of the Lord.
Learn the lesson of the tarpon. Just keep running towards freedom, keep running with the right crowd, and eventually the hook will come out and freedom will come.
