Sometimes the best thing we can do is move on to another field. Paul Harvey told the story of Joe, who was born into a family of Sicilian immigrants, a family who had a 300-year history as fishermen. Joe’s dad was a fisherman; his brothers were fishermen; but Joe was made sick by the smell of raw fish and the motion of a rocking boat. In a family where the only acceptable way to earn a living was by fishing, Joe was a failure.
His dad used to refer to his son as “good for nothing.” Joe believed his dad. He believed his attempts at other types of work were an admission of failure, but he just couldn’t stand the smell of the fishing business. One thing Joe could do was play baseball. Giving up a field where he could not succeed, Joe DiMaggio moved to another field and became one of the great successes of baseball. (David G. Rogne, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost)
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