If you know my daughter Sara, then you know how much she loves to fish. I can see why since she grew up fishing with her daddy. As for me, I went along on a fishing trip when I was kid. I thought it was going to be a fun adventure. Boy was I wrong.
When I was around eight years old, a couple of my older cousins were going fishing on Bull Run Creek. Since I had never been around fishing, they let me tag along with them. I climbed into the back of their pickup truck. First, it was the 1970s. Second, we didn’t get on the road. Instead, we went through the gate behind Papaw’s barn and drove down through the cow field to the creek.
Once we got there, one of my cousins laid out a blanket and sat on it. My other cousin went about putting the worms on the hook. This didn’t bother me since I loved digging up worms. He cast his line and sat down. I immediately began asking him: “So, when you are gonna catch a fish?” In my mind, it should have been instantaneous. He informed me that he had to get a bite first. Every five minutes, I asked: “You got a bite yet?” Then he told me to be quiet since I was making too much noise and he didn’t want me to scare off the fish. I didn’t get that at all since the fish were under water.
So, I sat there on the blanket doing nothing but watching the fishing rod as we waited for it to move from a bite. Where was the fun in that? Finally, my cousin said, “I can’t believe I haven’t got a single bite. Let’s move up the creek.” But when he began the role his line in, he couldn’t because his fishing line was wrapped around a tree branch. It hadn’t even been in the water.
“And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” Mark 1:17 (KJV)
As a Believer and a fisher of men, where is your fishing line? Have you cast it out to others by telling about Jesus and by reflecting who He is? Or is yours up in a tree as you let witnessing opportunities pass by?
I never went fishing with those cousins again, but I have gone along with Tim and Sara. If they don’t get any bites, I like to tease them. From my lawn chair, I call out: “Sure your line isn't a tree?” They don’t find that as funny as I do.
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.