The closest thing to God my father has ever seen, is dawn at the brim of a lake. Finding forgiveness in its tides. Seeking solace in its depths. Building a chapel on a coasting boat. Discovering answered prayers hooked on a line. There’s a hallelujah echoing from the trees, if you stay silent long enough to listen to the birds. You can find grace in a no wake zone. I’ve always admired my father for unveiling hidden faith in the heart of nature. For developing a catch and release mantra. Feel and withdraw. Love and surrender. Live and abdicate. I’ve never been much of a believer in God until I saw the same light at dawn in my father’s irises. I found the same forgiveness in his hands. I sought solace in his mind. I built a chapel on his morals. And discovered answered prayers in the strength he hooked in me. I am silent and still, hearing a hallelujah echoing every time he says he’s proud. I have found grace in knowing we share the same blood. My father loves me like a prize winning fish at the end of his line. He reels me in, and lets me go. Because he knows I was never born to be a trophy. I was born to be a legend. Catch and release. Love and surrender. That’s how I know, and how I believe. For only God could design such a man.