By Lance Cherry
Crosshairs for Christ, lance@crosshairsforchrist.org

Lance Cherry craddles an indigenous Rio Grande Cutthroat trout on the bank of Costilla Creek. The C4C crew spent a full day fishing New Mexico's Yellowstone.

VALLE VIDAL– If you find yourself fly-fishing near a herd of monster bull elk, pristine grassy meadows, towering mountain peaks and meandering streams, you’ll start to think you’ve died and gone to heaven. If the place happens to be the Valle Vidal, you better believe you have.

People around here call this place New Mexico’s Yellowstone and for good reason. It’s the home of the state’s trophy elk herd and one of the last places you can find indigenous Rio Grande Cutthroat trout. It’s a place where one can easily clear their mind and remember the important things in life.

On Saturday, a small group of C4C members headed north to experience a cleaning of the soul. With the sound of a dry fly whipping through the air, beginners and experts picked up their rods and hit the streams and creeks in hopes of landing a cutthroat. What they found instead, was that fishing for one of God’s most beautiful creations, was more about the quite and stillness of the valley than the excitement and noise of a catch.

“Be still and know that I am God…”
- Psalms 46:10

The trip started early, about 4:30 a.m. to be exact. I met up with Dan Lewis and Scott Fuller to race across New Mexico in hopes of hitting the stream before the fish quit biting. A quick stop at the golden arches for a handheld heart attack and we were off to find our adventure. Another stop for gas and yet another for a couple extra flies and we found ourselves rolling into the Valle Vidal.

I can’t begin to tell you how thick the excitement was, except to say that we nearly missed seeing the 300 lb. black bear staring at us buzz down the road from the hillside. Good thing I looked up in time to see him sitting there like a big teddy bear. We stopped to enjoy the moment and once he had walked away it was back to the task at hand.

By 9:00 a.m. we had arrived at Comanche Point and it was every thing we could do to keep from running down the hill and simply tossing in a fly-less line. We could see Jimmy Johnson, his dad and brother fishing downstream and even though we should have slowed down to spend some time chatting with him, the fact that they were fishing only stirred us up more. We all stuffed our feet in our waders like fireman put on their gear for a 5-alarm fire. By the time Scott and I had our lines tied, Dan had already fished out the first two holes and was hiking up stream for more. (For the record, he gears up at un-human speeds.)

After trying my hand at the point, I determined that under no circumstances, would I be skunked on this trip, especially after my two fish trip to the Arkansas. I struck up a plan with Scott, and called for Jimmy, to jump back in the truck and rush the river upstream from Dan and do some “fishing out” of holes ourselves. It was a good plan as I experienced a once in a lifetime kind of day. You know, the kind where you actually start to believe you’re a pro and even when you’re doing everything wrong, you’re still catching fish. I must have had better than 45 fish on the line at one time or another and actually brought in better than 25, to hold and release back into the wild.

Early in the day, when the action had heated up, I heard God say…

“Be still and know that I am God…”

I responded, how could I be still in the midst of a cutthroat feeding frenzy? What did God mean be still?

No sooner had the rebellion and questions left my head it struck me. In preparation for this trip, I had been studying Psalms 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth,” with the intent to deliver a thoughtful devotional to the small fishing group. In all the excitement I had missed the opportunity and now the group was scattered up and down the stream for miles. I knew there was no longer any hope of reigning them in to hear me yammer. So, I decided to reflect on the study myself.

I knew the literal meaning of the verse was intended as a power statement warning those who persecuted the Church to immediately stop their cruelty. This wasn’t about persecution or cruelty. I knew God was saying more.

Below the shadow of an aspen rich mountain, in a creek winding through a green grassy meadow, I began to let go and recognized his existence, control and power.

I thought hard about the thought provoking message I had written down, which was to drive home the point that as men we are always trying to control every situation ourselves, even at the expense of doing what’s right. I was going to use James 4:2 which describes the issue this way. “You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.”

Instead of delivering the message to the group, God began delivering it to me. Lately I had been obsessed with finances, the thought of selling my home, with work and the pressures of finishing a handful of tough tasks. The obsession continued with the family, my children headed back to school and my son charging towards mid-school and adolescence. As a man, I was trying to control every situation myself.

It’s funny how God will speak to you in the most unexpected places. Despite the action in the water and the excitement of the catch, I had managed to not only hear God speak, but also “be still.” It wasn’t about physical movement, rather spiritual movement. God knew what to say when I needed it most.

The day continued as it started with the fish biting hard and often and the sound of water dancing through my ears. I simply couldn’t leave because God had given me peace. It was nearly pitch dark when we rolled out of the Valle Vidal that night.

For most the departure would be disappointing, for me the same excitement from the morning returned. I knew I was going home to the same issues, but comforted by the fact that I was not alone.

I enjoyed the day’s stories of the big ones that got away. I loved hearing Dan talk about each of the multitude he also caught and I wondered if God had told him to be still. We all had the opportunity to stare at the wild fish in still pools and all had fully experienced God’s great creation. I love the fact that you can’t go to a place like the Valle Vidal without realizing just how real God is.

[Devotional] [Lance's Story] [About The Valle Vidal]
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