Teach a woman to fish...

I believe the original phrase is something like: give a man a fish he eats for one night, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Well, if you teach a woman to fish this is what happens: She longs for the solitude and peace next to the river, and won't hesitate to gut a fish without flinching. Really it doesn't matter if there's a catch or not, it is a life giving selah moment amidst the chaos of life. 

When I was a teenager my grandfather took me out fishing. He knew several spots, but we would never catch a thing. I'd beg him to stop by the grocery store to pick up a dressed trout and I was chided for wanting to cheat. Years later he passed, but not without teaching me that watching the water and the sky will tell you how to live in the moment. Where you need to cast your line, your vision. Thanks to him, I caught my first fish without help, off an island only accessible by boat. Sadly I had no idea how to clean it, so catch and release it was.

About 10 years after he past, an uncle took me out on the state's largest lake with decades of fishing logs knowing where to fish when certain conditions are present. It was a successful trip, and I hope to take my boys on a similar one. He also taught me to fly fish. It was my mom who taught me to clean those fish, just as her dad had taught her. My grandfather would have been proud, and proud that I asked to be taught how to fly fish. 

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon. Desperate for a quiet moment to myself, I called a babysitter and headed to the woods with my vest and rod in hand. My uncle's advice: A bad day of fishing is always better than a good day at work. That, I will not dispute. I rolled up my shorts as short as I could and left my waders in the car. I just needed to walk into the water, to feel the passing water and know where I stand. It was the selah moment I needed, grounded and washed. In case you are wondering, no I didn't go for any unintentional swims; baptism wasn't on the agenda for a solo fishing excursion.

The disciples fished. They went out on to the lake and sometimes they caught something and sometimes they nearly sink the boat. At times the storm felt as if it would consume them, and then there was Peter who walked on water. Jesus could calm the storm then and he will now, if we let Him. Thousands were fed a mere five loaves and two fish. We all need this. 

Don't just be a fisherman, but be a fisher of men. Share the work that He is doing in your life. Share the good that is happening in a world drowning in a lack of hope and peace. Do it. Cast your line and don't give up. Be stirred by His tender mercies, not shaken by chaos. 

Casting my vision on things above,

Ruth