On any given day, my husband will stop by the fishing & hunting stores and sporting good stores in our area to find the latest "stink bait" or the jig with the most shiny colors. It's pretty hilarious to watch him get so excited. We've even taken our younger son fishing with us and as soon as he would throw out the line, he'd want to retrieve it almost immediately. ( For him, it was about casting the perfect line. That was funny to watch also, because I see how much these 2 fellas are really alike.)
Yesterday was a beautiful day and we ventured out to find another "honey hole" as anglers call it; we'd heard of a few good places to catch fish. When we arrived, it was so serene and beautiful. We listened to the calls and cries of the different birds, the buzzing sounds of bees and flies and Lord-knows-what-else flying around our heads and the gentle swishes of the water as fish leaped out of the water periodically. Well I'm sad to report that none of these leaping fish leaped into our fishing net or got caught on the hook. We were there for hours and caught NOTHING. We were still happy and peaceful, ate lunch, drove back home, took showers, rested, got the family situated for the evening and decided to go back outdoors for yet another fishing excursion. This time there was a little more activity. We visited a local lake where there are biking and walking trails and people for days. There was so much activity here, but it was still great to be outdoors to experience the beauty of nature. (I was a little salty however because the area where we set up shop didn't have 2 trees close enough to hang my hammock. I can't believe that I'm really becoming a country 'outdoorsy' girl.) Anyway, we had 3-4 lines in the water, with different types of bait to catch different fish. The catfish combo line had stink bait to attract the deeper catfish, so we added heavier weights to sink closer to the bottom. Two of the other lines had worms that I'd threaded on the hook to catch different types of fish and he had one line with a jig attached. This jig moves all the time and makes noises under water to attract other types of fish. I'm clueless, I just like to throw the line in, feel the pull of the line and then reel in the fish. Last night, we were outsmarted by the fish because they found ways to eat the worms off of the hook without getting stuck. (I was just outdone!)
This morning as I laid in bed, reflecting on yesterday's outdoor adventures, I began to wonder how it was that we caught 4 nice-sized fish on our first trip and now that we had all the accoutrements of fishing caught NOTHING. (Oh I apologize, my husband did catch a small one last night, but we decided to catch & release. No fish-fry!)
I began to compare the two excursions and this is what was brought to my attention...
On our first time out fishing, we had no idea what we were doing and God was just kind to us. I think we actually rolled up on a school of fish and were able to catch them. Due to our lack of knowledge, and not knowing at the time what a "school of fish" was, we could have caught more but I stopped to go to the bathroom and to get something to eat. At that time both of us had only one fishing rod in the water. He had a line and I had my own line, so it was easy to keep track of when the bobber moved or disappeared under water. Yesterday we had 4-5 lines in the water and were utterly confused because we kept crossing each others lines. He would cast in my area and when I would reel my line back in it would disturb his line. Several times our lines got tangled and we wasted time untangling. Other times, my bobber would move but by the time I ran back to the 1st line, the fish had already maneuvered the worm off of the hook. Had I been watching my one line, I would have known the exact time to pull up and hook the fish in the mouth.
But isn't this our lives at times?
When we are laser-focused on one or two things, we can usually make things happen. We have time to notice the tiny nuances and details, so when something changes we can quickly make the necessary adjustments. However when we try to do everything and please everyone; we usually go home empty-handed and spirits low because all of our efforts didn't work. Personally, I am finding this to be true in my career and in the education of my children. Some of you may see it in your health, your family or in your life in general. It seems that I have a thousand lines in the water (or as the old folk would say, too many irons in the fire) and I keep wondering why nothing is biting the line. And God just showed me that perhaps I need to go back to the basics: pray more for guidance, focus on one or two things (not 10) and just wait patiently for God to deliver. When the timing is just right and I'm expectant, yet 'still and surrendered'.... the right fish will jump the line. (And it will be a significant enough blessing that I don't have to "catch & release".) When God provides it, it's mine to keep.
So let me encourage you today, if you keep tripping over the same things and making the same silly mistakes and just obviously missing the blessings or peace of mind; sit back and take a real look at the situation. Do you have too many lines in the water that are continually getting tangled? Is your attention on line number 5 when you could actually be focused on your line, which is line number 1? The blessing is right there and you can see the bobber going under water; but your timing is off and you keep missing the blessing.
Perhaps it's time to just focus on YOUR line (maybe one or two, but definitely not five).
Be blessed, cast the number of lines that you can handle and walk it out...
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