Release and Catch

Recently I went fishing with my buddy M, a middle-aged entrepreneur who runs a successful small business.

At one point M's phone rings at the same time a little walleye hits his jig and minnow.

He takes the call.

It's a former employee chatting it up about his new job. No big deal, right?

Turns out it was a guy M had fired. "You're kidding," I said, screwing up my face.

"Nope. He wasn't getting the job done."

"But he's calling you now to shoot the breeze?"

"I felt terrible letting him go, but I knew it was the right move. I gave him a positive recommendation for a certain type of work that I know he can do well. I just didn't have that kind of work for him. He was calling to thank me."

Note to self: I've supervised a lot of people over the years. And I've made the hard calls, the tough personnel moves. But I wonder whether it was always done with M's spirit of love and compassion for the employee, which in truth is Jesus' spirit of love and compassion.

M landed the walleye, which is now at rest in my freezer.