The Salmon Run: A Parable

During this time of year, I live for Sundays.  They are my favorite day of the week because that is the only day I get to see Robert and he gets to be with us all day.  I always love Sundays, but during hunting season, they are the refuge from the storm even more so than usual.  For the last two Sundays, we have gone to the park as a family and just played together.  I love spending that precious time as a family and just being happy together. 

This past Sunday, I was feeling particularly light because it was right after the Primary program, so I felt that a great weight that had just been lifted from my shoulders.  It was September 18th, so we decided to go down to Expedition Island, right on the river, and see if the salmon were running yet.  Last year we went on September 19th (Robert's birthday), and we weren't expecting to see salmon, so we were pleasantly surprised at all the bright red salmon swimming upstream.  This year, we went looking for them, and we weren't disappointed.  The kokanee were there in full force, making their laborious journey upstream.  It is so fun to watch them, because it seems so strange to see them swimming in the wrong direction, and they are so vibrant and bright, and they often jump out of the water.  Since they are swimming upstream, they move slowly and they are easy for the kids to spot, so we all enjoyed watching them.

The salmon run is one of the incredible natural wonders of our earth.  I have always loved the interesting reproductive cycle of the salmon.  I find it so curious that all those salmon are swimming upriver for who knows how many miles just so that they can lay their eggs in the place where they were born, and then die.  When Claire asked me why they were swimming the wrong way, I told her that they had to swim against the current so that they could have their babies, and then they would die.  As I spoke, I found that contained in my words was a marvelous metaphor for parenting in our wicked world.  These salmon literally struggle against the way that all the other fish are swimming for the entire journey, and in the end, they sacrifice everything for their eggs.  So we, as parents, must not only stand firm against the world's tide of filth and wickedness, we must move in the opposite direction.  We must get back to the place we started from: the presence of our Heavenly Father.  We must be willing to sacrifice whatever it takes for our children, even our very lives.  It really made me step back and take a look at how I am doing as a mom and what more I could be doing to fortify my children against all the evil influences in the world, and to help them move in the other direction, towards eternal life.  I thank Heavenly Father for the salmon, and their example to me.  I am always amazed by Heavenly Father's creations, but the salmon hold a special place in my heart.  I hope I can be like the salmon.