No Fishing in the Ponds of Past Mistakes

A wonderful sister in Arlington, MA told my wife years ago something profound when my wife was struggling to care for our young children each Sunday while I served as the Seminary teacher in a small branch miles away. It was hard, and my wife wondered aloud one day why I couldn't be there to help her.

My memory version of what Sister Sloan told her is:

There is a bridge spanning a canyon that is very deep. Far below the bridge a small stream runs through the canyon. The local people regularly take pieces of paper, write their hurt feelings and bitterness on the paper and drop them from the bridge to the stream below. In the middle of the bridge, where the people drop their notes, is a sign which says, simply:

NO FISHING!