September 15th, 2026

Dear Friends,

The forecast was very poor — definitely not a great day for an outdoor adventure — but the fishing trip was booked and I didn’t want to disappoint the client. Now why is it that forecasters, whose prognostications are notoriously inaccurate, tend instead to be very accurate when it comes to my fishing trips? It was a miserable day. At one point, it poured briefly. For most of the day, the wind gusted and tossed my client’s flies around like they had minds of their own. Worse yet, I had to row a laden boat into that wind. By mid-afternoon, I was feeling it, to put it mildly. I was focused as much on the take out point as I was on my client’s fly on the water. Yet, I rowed with little complaint. I guided with encouraging words. My outer world did not succumb to the inner storm (at least, not that day!) or the outer storm.

As I reflect on that day, I wonder how I developed that capacity to persevere. I’m reminded of Kipling’s words: “If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’” Where do we develop “the will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’”?

At the risk of sounding like a crotchety old man, I warn you, friends. We live in a wimp culture. Excuses, diagnoses, and syndromes are our stock and trade. We can’t, or won’t, do something and we find a way to make it seem justifiable. Then we lie to ourselves and say that we are just in tune with our bodies or our emotions, when we are fundamentally acting selfishly. Heaven forbid that we should have to suffer or, worse yet, not tell anybody about it and not use it as an excuse to avoid what needs to be done.

The will to “hold on” is developed only in circumstances that challenge our ability to do so. I remember hockey practices so hard that guys were throwing up, and still the coach demanded more of us. He knew that what was holding us back was not fatigue as much as a mental roadblock that said, “I’m done.” Fatigue could be overcome but not without repeated practice and repeated efforts to go just a little further.

Discipleship is a very hard thing. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It demands total selflessness and total yielding to Master Jesus. That, alone, keeps most of us from serious discipleship. But, if we were to learn to serve others selflessly, what is the fist step?

The answer is, “Get off the throne of your life.” You’re not in charge and you’re not supposed to be in charge. You’re supposed to trust Jesus. When you trust him, you obey him because you quit considering yourself first. He’s got you. He will supply all your needs, including strength to go beyond what you think is personally possible. Your job is to do what you’re told and then say, “I’m only a servant, doing what a servant is supposed to do.” Good parents do this daily.

Learning to keep going requires pushing through apparent barriers or difficulties. What are you facing today? What is the God-honoring thing to do? Do you have the courage to trust him, make no big deal about your struggle, and then work quietly in the background to accomplish what needs doing? If so, congratulations. You are holding on. You are not a wimp!

Blessings!

Doug