Better Fishing Grounds

I called the radio station to talk with management about an issue, and was put on hold. When a voice spoke to indicate I had been taken off hold, an old crackly voice said, "I want to tell you, put Vince Coakley back on the radio! I don't like at all that you took him off and I want him back!"
"Excuse me?" I said.
"What were you thinking?" screeched the voice, "I think he ought to be back on the radio!"
"I think you want to be talking to someone else," I said, "I am not with the radio station. I am just on hold waiting to talk to someone. I think there has been some sort of mixed lines."
(I sure hope I am not being broadcast at this moment, I thought.)
"Well," said the voice, "Then when you get connected, would you tell them for me that Vince Coakley should be back on the radio....well, I suppose you may be one of them that wanted him off..."
"It might be best if you talk to them yourself," I suggested, "And to someone who can make a difference. I'm just waiting on hold like you...."

We said our goodbyes and I was connected later to the appropriate person. I told them there was an irate listener who wanted Vince Coakley back on the radio. After that, I hobbled to the shoe store and asked the salesperson to find me sandals that protected my toes and also would make me able to walk pain free with my broken toe. Instead of laughing at me, the salesman brought me many choices. I actually found a pair that might work. I walked out of there with almost no pain.

But the best part of the day was taking Asherel and her friend Josh kayaking. We went to the Catawba river and kayaked out to our favorite sandbar. It was still a scorching hot day, so they submerged themselves like hippos, hiding from the heat. I prowled the nearby shoreline in my kayak. In one of the quieter coves, I spied a blue heron, fishing in the shallow water. Quietly, I glided slowly towards him. I got within 5 feet of him before he decided to fly to another near shore. As soon as he landed, he speared a fish and gobbled it up. I had felt bad disturbing his hunt when I crept close, but now I was happy that I had spooked him off to better fishing grounds. Sometimes it takes a friendly nudge, even a frightening nudge to propel you to a more advantageous place in life.

I suppose in a way that is what the trials in life do for us- they propel us to a place we would not go otherwise. And sometimes, when we get there, hobbling with broken toes, unfulfilled hungers, and broken phone lines of communication, we find ourselves in a place where the fishing is much better, we connect with the One we were meant to be talking to, and we figure out what it is we need to not hurt.

Daniel 8:9-14 (NIV)
Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. [10] It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. [11] It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. [12] Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground. [13] Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled---the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?” [14] He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”







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