A TRUE Fish Story..

A TRUE Fish Story...

I would have to say that out of all the seasons in New England summer and fall are my favorite. The reason being, I am able to be at the beach, or there are no bugs and I can ride horses without being miserable. But seeing as it is almost summertime, this is the season I am going to pull the weekly devotional from.



Summer is a time where we can choose from a variety of activities whether it be swimming, working, surfing, horseback riding, hiking etc. My personal favorite activity is being on the beach. I love the waves and the wind and the salt. I have always gotten very excited for summer ever since I was a child and I still do.



This one particular summer, my family was just chillin at home but every Saturday we would either go on a hike or to the ocean. This particular Saturday it was the ocean. I could barely sit still in the car as we drove up to Maine. Erik and I had crammed the car full of beach stuff. We had stuff for crab catching, boogie boards, a skim board, towels chairs, the works. Oh, and Erik and my dad had also brought their ocean fishing rod.



It was a goal of theirs to catch a Striper fish. Thats a fish about the size of an adults forearm or bigger. I wasnt into fishing, but I was into catching crabs. Maybe its the instant gratification thing for me. Crabs are pretty dumb, and all I had to do was mash up some Mackerel, put it in a net and lower the net down from the bridge and wait maybe ten seconds or so to pull about 5 crabs out of the water. Waiting for hours to catch a huge fish just wasnt for me.



We got to the beach and Erik and I grabbed our boards and ran to the ocean. Its still our favorite and first thing we do now. Anyhow, we stayed in there until our bodies had turned blue, then it was time to warm up in the sun and catch fish, crabs, whatever came our way. Erik was determined that this was the day he was going to catch a Striper.



The place where we would go was just over the sand dunes at the mouth of the river that emptied into the ocean. I sat on the bridge going over the river with my net, and Erik walked a ways down the river, hoping to find that one lucky spot. I watched Erik as I absent-mindedly pulled my net out of the water (Very carefully so no crabs would let go.) and emptied the crabs into a pail sitting next to me.



Erik threw his first cast.



His second cast.... his third...fourth.... I was becoming hypnotized just watching his continuing casting motions that came one right after the other.



His bait was the head of the Mackerel fish we had bought. He used it like a lure casting out and reeling in. Over and over again. Fishing can be sooooo monotonous...



After a half hour of watching him and sitting in the warm sun I started to daydream. I was well off in another world when all of the sudden I felt a sharp pull at my net. Looking down to see what had pulled the net so hard I noticed the BIGGEST Striper fish hiding under the bridge. It swam towards my little net and pulled at it again. It was going after the fish that I was using to catch crabs. My mouth dropped open and I looked up the river only to see my discouraged brother way off in the distance. Casting and reeling. Casting and reeling.



I wondered if I should shout to him. Would he make it in time? Would I scare the fish away? In the end I decided to yell for him. I knew hed be upset if I didnt and with that I shouted for Erik and told him to hurry to the bridge.



It took Erik a couple of minuets to reach the bridge because he had to climb over many rocks. While he was climbing I kept my net full of mashed fish as still as the current would let me, to keep the Striper interested, and not attract other little kids and their nets to the fish.



Erik was nearing the side of the bridge and while he was still on the bank he looked over and noticed what I had called him for. He stopped dead in his tracks. I knew he was thinking, This is it! This is my day!! He started to double check his bait and line and got ready to cast. Just as he did a little kid on the bridge noticed the fish and yelled out to his friends. All the kids swarmed around me, I became busy telling them not to throw their nets down and motioned for Erik to move along and just cast his rod.



The next moments were pretty chaotic. The kids on the bridge were shouting and close to running in the river to catch the fish with their hands. The seagulls had come because all of the kids had brought up their nets full of meat and left them sitting on the bridge. I was keeping them (the kids and seagulls) back. I wanted to set Erik up for success. Erik finally got it together and cast out his bait and just as the bait was about to hit the water, a seagull swooped down and caught the lure with his beak.



The fish finally noticed all the chaos and started to jet down the river, out towards the ocean. Meanwhile Erik was left reeling in a seagull that by all means possible was not going to let Erik have his bait back. The seagull flew higher and higher. Eriks line was getting longer and longer. Erik was reeling and reeling and the seagull was pulling back.



One adult walked by and commented on what a cool kite Erik had and all the kids on the bridge started to laugh. Erik played tug o war with this seagull for a good minute or so and finally the line snapped and the seagull flew off with its prize.



Erik trudged up the bridge and sat beside me. He was never going to catch a Striper. I told him not to be discouraged. I pointed out that no one has ever flown a seagull like a kite. It was a one in a million experience. And with that Erik smiled. Maybe he didnt catch what he had wanted but he would remember that seagull for the rest of his life. And that seagull was happy Erik had decided to cast in that spot.



When Jesus was here on earth looking for disciples he wondered along the water and called out to Peter and Andrew, James and John who were out in their boats fishing: Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Mathew 4:19 Immediately all followed, maybe they didnt know exactly what fishers of men meant? What would they be catching? But they got up and trusted in Jesus. And as they followed Jesus many of the goals the disciples had for Him and the people they wanted to share the message with changed drastically.



Erik was out along the water fishing, hoping for that big catch and in the end he realized that more than one thing was interested in that bait at the end of his rod. He has also come to realize that it is the same in being a disciple and sharing God with others.



Most people may feel like sharing their values and beliefs is difficult because no one seems to listen or respond. They sit at the edge of the river and cast and reel for a long time and soon lose hope. Soon God calls them and they get up and, they do not have to know why. Then they see what they have been hoping for. That fish, that one person that they have been casting for. That "project", the one they will help prepare for heaven. They throw out their line, eyes directed at the "fish", and no sooner does the bait get close to the target, a seagull swoops down and grabs it in its beak.



That person that cast the line gets discouraged, but they fail to realize that even though they had not caught that fish, they had shared something wonderful with that seagull. And as that seagull that caught the message sits and digests it, they may realize the good news God has for them.


Then, that person who cast the line realizes, maybe it wasnt that fish God was calling them for, maybe it was that seagull.

By: Sara Sue Renee