Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Fishing With the Grandkids

Today I went fishing with the grand kids.  It is always fun being with them and I enjoy watching them grow.  My good friend, John Riley, went with us.  John and I learned a few lessons from God in the process.

The first lesson is that when you fish with grand kids you don't fish much (John fished even less because he paddled).  Hooks and lines get tangled.  You constantly need to watch out for flying hooks.  You bait hooks and sometimes cast for them so they will get to the best fishing spots.  It requires patience and thick skin (especially when the hook imbeds in your finger).

The second lesson is that grand kids are usually less patient with a slow fishing day.  They get distracted quickly.  They watch the fish in the bucket and miss the real fish that bite their hook.  For a driven person like me it could be infuriating ... except they are grand kids, and grand kids get lots of extra grace.

When I got home I thought, maybe this is a little taste of what God puts up with in my life.  God has His hands full just keeping an eye on me.  My lines get tangled and I try to fish in places that are filled with logs and snags, and dangers my father sees but I fail to see.  God gets the barbs of flying hooks when I try to blame him for my mistakes or the bad choices of other people (like Adam and Eves choice to send us all out into a word of infirmity).  I get impatient with God, though I want God to be patient with me.  And God should be frustrated and furious with me for some very good reasons.  I wonder why He isn't,  and then I think ... maybe He gives me grace and patience because of something I haven't thought of ... God thinks of my like I think of my grandchildren.  I am related!  A son ... brother to other sons and daughters like you.  Isaiah (43) said it like this ... “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."  We are flesh and bone of His son, Jesus.

Thinking of this makes me smile, even in the heat of the day, the uncertainty of the winds and fish that are picky.  Thanks, John, Benjamin, Phoenix and God for the lesson (and the fish)!

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