fishing on the pond

I am not a fisherman.  I might give it a try one of these days but it hasn't been part of my life (apart from a few childhood escapades with worms and hooks) but this morning I was thinking about fishing on the pond.  There is something almost magical...and certainly wonderful...about fishing.  It means that you can pull something alive and wriggling from beneath the placid surface of the water.  It's almost like a magic trick...like pulling a fish out of a hat.  The fisherman has faith that if he patiently waits in his boat without seeing the fish...eventually he will catch one and remove it from the murky shadows of the pond.  While he waits, he enjoys the waiting...there is an expectation that makes the waiting worthwhile.  I thought about a different kind of fishing that I enjoy at the pond.  I've found that if you wait by the pond and center your thoughts on the Lord...often by considering and simply enjoying the natural surroundings...He will bring thoughts from beneath the surface that draw me to Him.  I actually had to leave the pond early this morning because, after I'd stood by the water's edge for a while, I'd fished what seemed like my limit.  I had three "fish" thoughts and knew that I'd forget one if I didn't head home.  After these thoughts surface they need to be evaluated...sometimes they have to be thrown back until they grow a little...sometimes they have to be cleaned and prepared before they are ready for consumption.  But I would encourage you to also go fishing.  As you wait with expectation by the surface of the water be prepared to be surprised.  You never know what you might pull from beneath the surface (you might even see one jump out of the water)!

John 21:³ Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing."

They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. ⁴ But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" 
They answered Him, "No." 
⁶ And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. 

blessings,

Rob Smith