On my daily walk along our beautiful beach this morning, I came upon a gentleman standing knee deep in the cold, ocean water. He had a smile on his face as he reeled in his empty fishing line — shaking off the excess water.
I stopped to inquire what he was fishing for and he remarked, “Bluefish”. We chatted about how that particular fish is not very good eating but how excited he and about three other men were yesterday as the fish constantly bit the bait and they hauled one after another in onto the shore. I asked if they kept and ate any of them and he remarked that they are not good eating. But it was still thrilling just catching as many as he did.
I thought about a lot of things in this conversation. His bright smile, his basically happy demeanor and the sparkle behind his dark sunglasses lent me to believe that just standing on this seashore, fishing and being part of this beautiful world made him a happy man! Nice thought!
Of course, in my storytelling mind, I wove this tale I am telling and wanted to compare it to Jesus and his ability to catch all of the “fish”, people in his net of ministry. I thought of the joy this brought to him and degenerations of people after Him. How beautiful being pulled from oceans of trouble and saved by Him has molded countless lives.
I gave thanks for my Christianity as I walked away. I will remember the joy the gentleman shared with me and the happiness he felt with his fishing. How wonderful to love such a simple thing. Especially if he caught a giant Pompano instead of a greasy bluefish!
Today, I am thankful for my conversation, for the love Jesus has for me and my loved ones and for being able to tell this story.
Fishers of men… that is what we all should be!
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