Little Fishies

First of all, apologies for not posting for a couple of weeks. Things have been unexpectedly busy in the Surovec household, mainly due to that wonderful thing called "spring". Cleaning up around the house and yard has been gobbling up every minute of my free time, and when the evening comes the only thing I've wanted to do is sit on my touche (a.k.a - behind, bottom, buttocks) and stare at the wall. But tonight, I choose to give you the thrill of yet another post! No, please...sit down...stop applauding....you're embarassing me.


I believe that every once in awhile we have moments when we experience the presence of our God in a more tangible way. It usually comes in those times when we actually close our mouths and sit still long enough to notice what is taking place around us. I had one of these experiences yesterday.

In an attempt to get out of the office for a little while and breathe some unfiltered air, I decided to go to the park and read. As I sat on a bench near the pond, something suddenly caught my eye - an older man, sitting by the pond, fishing. There was nothing particularly exciting about the process; not exactly the Bassmaster's Classic, if you know what I mean. He would simply bait his hook, cast out into the lake, reel in the line after a couple of minutes, and then repeat the process. But that is exactly what caught my attention and held it for nearly a half an hour....the simplicity.

Sometimes God uses the simplest things in life to grab us and open our eyes and ears to the beauty of His creation, and this was one of those times. The simple, peaceful, serene act of this older gentleman casting his line and reeling it in was like a match that lit the fuse to my brain, and the next thing I knew I was fully aware of the awesomeness of the scene around me. A gorgeous, still body of water in front of me; the sun shining in a bright blue sky on a spring afternoon; the pink blossoms on the tree above my head cascading down as the wind blew; the geese playing on the other side of the pond; the people walking the path around the park getting in their daily exercise; even that pesky fly that kept buzzing around my face that I probably would have smashed into stew if it had landed for a second. Everything around me was absolutely exploding with life, with the glory, holiness, and beauty of the hand of God, and I was about ready to miss it all - until I noticed the fisherman.

It didn't exactly seem like a successful outing for my fisher friend; he only caught one little fish in my time there, and it was a pretty pathetic looking thing. The man just took it off the hook, threw it back into the water, baited his hook and started at it again. Of course, I think we all know that making a big catch was not his reason for being there. Maybe he too was being awakened in his own way to the incredible life around him, to the holiness of the moment of a wonderful spring day, to the tangible presence of his God and Savior.

Or maybe he just likes to fish...

Regardless, God used him to remind me that He is most often found outside of the walls of my office in the church building and not within them. So thanks Mr. Fisherman! I salute you....and here's hoping that each one of you reading this may find some time soon to get outside on a spring day and do absolutely nothing. Nothing, that is, except open your eyes and ears to the handiwork of the Creator.