I was fishing in the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) when a gentleman came up to me and said, “I fish also.” He had a New York license plate and a touristy look about him and that was just the start. I thought I was there to fish for conventional species, but I was about to find out God had other plans. I said to this stranger, “I see you are from New York; I lived in New York at one time and worked in Manhattan.”

He responded, “Yes, I am from New York. I’m here staying with my family for 2 more weeks in Lafayette, Colorado.”

I said, “Did I hear you right… Lafayette? I live in Lafayette!”

Funny thing is Lafayette is 50 miles from the park. I thought to myself, Is this another man I have to talk to for God? I just wanted to fish and enjoy God’s creation! OK, God, I will go with you wherever you take me. I asked, “I’ll tell you what, since we’re both in Lafayette, would you like to go fishing with me?”

Pete said, “Fish with you? Wow, that would be great. I will even pick you up and drive, if you would like.” Darn, I guess I am going to do more fishing, but what for?

I recalled thinking that maybe he’d forget about me. Not so. Pete called and came to my house and picked me up. He pulled into my driveway, all proud of his GPS that got him right to my driveway.

“What a great day, and the weather is great here in Colorado,” Pete said.

“Yes, I am spoiled living in such a great place,” I replied.

We did just a small trip to Boulder Creek, and it was really a pleasure to meet again and to chat with him. So I said to the God, “There, Lord, I did what you wanted. I know I did not tell him about you, but sorry, I didn’t have enough time since it was such a short trip.” I thought, Will that be the end?

Nope! A short time later Pete asked, “How about we go fish another day and make it a longer day back to RMNP.” I told him that would be great, but put the responsibility on him for making the call. Maybe he’ll lose my number, I thought, but with modern technology and redial on every cell phone, what would be the chances of that?

The call came and not long after, Pete pulled in the driveway again ready fish. He had this big grin on his face. “I marked you in my GPS as a favorite location. That way the computer will tell me exactly how to get here next year.”

I thought to myself, Now that I’m a favorite I may have to move. We had a great day, and I have to admit it is fun to have someone else with you at times. We stopped at a grocery store for lunch in between catching some fish. I don’t like to be in trouble with the Lord, so I started.

“Pete, it has been fun to be with you and I have to admit we have a good time. Now that we have time at lunch, I’d like to share something with you.”

He gave me a look; it wasn’t as bad as I thought. “That would be OK with me,” he said.

“Good. The reason I’ve spent time with you is because there is something that has changed my life, and I would like to share it with you.” He did not get up and leave. Lord, this isn’t that bad.

“Jesus Christ is in my life, and that has changed me. What are your thoughts on Jesus?”

Pete looked at me. “I believe in being a good person.”

“What does that mean to you?” I asked.

“Well, I believe that it doesn’t matter to me--heaven or Jesus. I want to be good here. It would not change how I live.”

I thought, Lord, I need a little help here. I asked Pete, “How is that working out for you?”

“Well I do not always live up to it and make mistakes sometimes. You and I believe the same thing you know.”

I could not let that one go. “I am sorry, but we do not believe the same thing. It may be a good target to be good, but you can never achieve it. As a matter of fact, I will fail again probably by the end of today. You see, Jesus says that we all fall short and that in His eyes we can never meet His standards. That is why Jesus came and gave His life.”

Pete just looked at me; he was polite and was still listening. “Well, I believe there are other ways to be good, like other teachers and stuff,” he said.

I hear this all the time in Boulder County. “Jesus is really different. He said I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through me,” I said. That was my pitch; I prayed as he listened. “What are your thoughts on that?”

He said, “Well, that church thing really bothers me.”

“I can understand that. There are others who mess up like we do, and they are in church. We just talked about trying to be good and failing. I think some people at church are just like us.

He kept staring at me. “You know, Bob, I would rather not get into that at this time.”

“Can we talk more about this?” I asked. “It is really important to me.”

“I would rather not.”

Well, that’s just wonderful. I have to fish the rest of the day with him. Now I was a little nervous and wondered whether he would aim the fly hook at me with his fly fishing cast. I took the time the Lord gave us together. Sometimes I just carry a shovel and a set of pry bars to pry open a life and shovel a seed into the dirt. “Lord, my attempt did not take root. Did I waste my time?” I asked as a feeble prayer to the Lord. I felt a calm that I can not explain. It is not my job to make it fruitful, but just to use my shovel.

The remainder of the afternoon went well. The fish were beautiful with some nice Brook Trout, a type of trout with a red hot belly. I could not help but thank God for how wonderful His creation is. We packed up and started the drive down the mountain. I asked Pete if I could get his info so I could send him some pictures and keep in touch. I thought, no way; this guy thinks I’m one of those people.

To my surprise, Pete was more than happy to give me all his info. As a matter of fact, the only thing I did not get was his dog’s name. We pulled into my driveway, and I thanked him for his driving, and he thanked me for the free guiding and secret places. I thought, Lord, that was actually enjoyable. After we climbed out, we shook hands and said our goodbyes. Then I heard it again from Pete.

“Did I tell you I have your place marked as a favorite in my GPS. Maybe my computer will work next year also.” Pete left and was going back to New York in a couple of days. I walked up the driveway thinking what a day, and I thought I was going fishing. My thoughts about possibly moving to avoid Pete’s GPS system in the future have long since disappeared and, in fact, now I’m looking forward to our next time on the water.

Did I tell you about the time I went for a ride on my motorcycle to get away alone for a root beer? I met a guy named Tim. I call him “Root Beer Tim.”Sometime soon I’ll tell you about him.

Written by Bob Seeberger, Lafayette, Colorado