Choices: A Short Story by Gary Flory

     “Ray you told our grandson that you would take him to the cabin to do some fishing before school starts. Do you remember?”

    “Actually, I forgot about it, we have been so busy this summer.”

    “He only has three more weeks before school starts, you better give him a call.”

    Ray knew there were a number of things he wanted to get done before the weather turned cold, but he also knew it wouldn’t be right to break his promise to Billy. The poles hadn’t been out of the garage for several months, so before calling, he thought he better check the equipment. The battery would also need to be on the charger for a few hours.

    An hour went by and Ray hadn’t come back in the house, so Martha went out to check on him. “What ya doing?”

    “Just checking out the equipment and charging the battery.”

    “What’s that smell?”

    “I guess the last time we had the boat out it rained. I found my fishing vest all rolled up on the floor. Got a little moldy.”

    “There’s no way you’re going to wear that. Give it to me and I’ll wash it.” 

    That evening after dinner, Ray decided to give Billy a call. Needless to say, Billy was excited to go on a fishing trip with Grandpa. Ray told him that he would pick him up Friday morning at seven. He also reminded him to bring warm clothes. Being out on the lake can be chilly this time of the year. “And one more thing, don’t eat breakfast. I know a place where they serve the best pancakes,” Ray emphatically told Billy.

    When Ray pulled up, Billy was on the step waiting and came running as soon as the truck stopped. 

    “Where’s the boat, Grandpa?”

    “It’s already up at the lake. All we’ll have to do is put it in the water, but first we’re going to fill our bellies. It will take us all day to get there.”

    About twenty miles down the road, Ray pulled into the parking lot of Mommy’s Kitchen. Billy said, “I’m going to order six pancakes.”

    “I think you better start with two. Wait until you see the size of these.”

    When their order came, Billy’s eyes got big. “Wow! You were right Grandpa. These are huge!” Billy managed to get them down, but the last few bites went down slowly.

    They got back on the road and within minutes Billy was fast asleep. The flat land gave way to rolling hills the closer they got to Cedar Falls. Just as they were getting ready to top one of the hills, a mule deer jumped out in front of the truck. Ray slammed on the brakes, instantly bringing Billy out of his sleep.

    “What happened?” Billy said, rubbing his eyes.

    “We came this close to having venison tonight,” Ray replied, motioning with a space between his thumb and forefinger.

    They were only an hour from the cabin, so they stopped and bought supplies for dinner. As they pulled in the yard next to the cabin, Billy pointed to the boat, “There it is.” 

    By the time they got everything unloaded, there was only an hour of daylight left.

    “Ok, here’s your choices. Cheeseburgers or hotdogs?” Ray said, grinning as he walked toward the grill.

    “Is that all we’re having?”

    “No. We are also having pork and beans with whichever one you pick, cooked on the grill.”

    Grandpa and grandson finished their last bite of food as the sun was setting over the mountain. As they sat in the rockers on the porch overlooking the lake, there was very little sound other than the crickets and the slight breeze through the pines. Billy pointed to the sky, “I have never seen so many stars.”

    “How many stars do you think is out there?”

    “Golly, there must be a hundred.”

    Ray smiled but didn’t say anything right away. “Would you be able to give names to those hundred stars?"

    “I don’t think I even know a hundred names.”

    “What if I told you there were millions and millions of stars out there, Billy? That’s not even the best part. God has a name for each one and knows where each one is.”

    “I could never do that. I have trouble finding my toys.” 

    Ray laughed out loud. “Don’t worry, we’ll leave that up to God. We need to get up early, that’s when the fish bite best, so let’s hit the sack.”

    “What part of the lake are we going to fish, Grandpa?”

    “I always have good luck on the west side of Bear Mountain.” Ray wasn’t sure if Billy heard his reply or not. Billy’s eyes were already shut.

    The next morning, Ray had the boat loaded and ready to go when Billy came out, still rubbing his eyes. “It’s still dark Grandpa.”

    “The sun will be up by the time we get to our fishing spot. Grab your coat, and let’s go.”

    As they headed out to Bear Mountain, Billy was taking it all in as it started to lighten up. “Grandpa, do you ever worry that something might happen, there’s no one else out here?”

    “You’re a Boy Scout, what’s your motto?”

    “Be prepared.”

    “Right. That’s what we are.”

    “But what if the motor stops?”

    “I have extra spark plugs, another tank of gas, and a new siphon hose under the seat. If the boat would spring a leak, I have a roll of tape to stop it.” That seemed to satisfy him.

    The fishing was good. They put seven in the cooler within the first hour. They were only fishing a hundred feet or so from the shoreline when a deer came running out of the woods with a bear in hot pursuit. The deer ran as fast as it could, but the bear was quickly gaining on it. When the bear was only feet away, the deer leaped into the water and swam out into the open water. At that point, the bear stopped the chase, and headed back into the woods. When the threat was gone, the deer headed back to shore.

    “Grandpa, if the deer knew the bear wouldn’t follow him into the water, why didn’t he jump into the water as soon as he came out of the woods?”

    “You see Billy, the deer had a choice. As he ran down the shore, he saw that he had made the wrong choice. So at the last second, he knew that he had to rely on something other than himself. The same is true with people. They make the choice to handle their issues themselves, only to find out it’s more than they can handle. If they had taken their problem to God first, instead of trying to do it on their own, wouldn’t they make a better choice?”

    Billy nodded his head, yes. That was enough excitement for this fishing trip, so Ray pulled up anchor and headed back. The two didn’t talk, but simply enjoyed the scenery. Arriving to shore, they cleaned the fish and fried up a couple. The others were put in the cooler, as they would be heading back home in the morning. Bellies full and dishes done, they sat in their favorite rockers to watch the sun go down. Ray could tell Billy was thinking about something, but he didn’t want to interrupt Billy's thoughts. Maybe twenty minutes or so passed before Billy looked over and said, “Grandpa, we have a couple of bullies in our class.” 

    That kinda caught Ray off guard. Ray looked at Billy and said, “You’re a big strong kid for your grade, are you one of them?” 

    Billy fired right back, “No, I don’t like those guys.”

    “Bullies have a choice to be good or bad. They chose to be mean. Just like we saw today, how the bear decided to let the deer go. But not every choice is good.”

    “Why doesn’t God just punish them?

    “Billy, have you ever done anything wrong?” Then I stopped rocking, waiting for his answer.

    “I guess I have a few times.”

    “Then why didn’t God punish you?” Ray inquired. Billy was quiet and just sit there rocking. “Sometimes Billy, we all make bad choices, but that doesn’t mean God quits loving us. Have you ever thought about how many choices you make every day? From the time you wake up, you start making choices; what to wear, what to eat, where to go, and for the most part you make good choices. You even have a choice to love God or not. Every choice you make has consequences, either good or bad. Hopefully, you learn from your bad choices, not to do them again."

    The trip home was quiet. Billy expressed gratitude to his Grandpa for a great weekend of fishing. He even took a couple of fish home to his mom. As Ray steered into his driveway, he couldn’t help but wonder if God had provided an opportunity for a valuable teaching moment.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean 

not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 KJV