“You can’t catch’em if you’re not fishin’.”
The first week of summer vacation my family did our annual trip to “my happy place”. Where? Little Gasparilla Island. Where we stay on the island you must get there by boat. The dock is on the east side of the house and the beach is on the west. There are no cars, no golf carts, no bicycles, no homes on either side to distract our view, and hardly any humans. I love it! Ahhh, I’m ready to go back to “Old Florida Island Life” already.
Anyhow…The summer storms were a daily occurrence. They mainly happen in the wee hours of the morning, but enough to interrupt the flow of the tarpon fishing for us. Tim would plan on waking up early to fish, and the storms were still occurring, or just ending. This happened so often the week we were on vacation that we were in such a relaxed mode we’d sit on the porch watching the drizzle or lie in bed listening to the rain fall, all the while debating about whether to fish or not at a particular time. I’d say, “You can’t catch’em if you’re not fishin’.” So we’d agree to load up and give it the old college try.
We had a blast trying to catch those tarpon, come rain or shine. The boys hooked up a few times, but I never even saw one while I was in the boat. Well, I take that back…there was one time we were in Boca Grande Pass and about five massive sharks (bull and hammerhead) decided to have a feeding frenzy on someone’s catch tarpon. Crazy waters!
The phrase, “You can’t catch’em if you’re not fishin’”, made me think about our mission as Christians. We are called to share the Good News with others. (Mark 16:15, “And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”) Jesus even calls us fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19, “And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”)
So how’s your fishin’? “You can’t catch’em if you’re not fishin’.”
Go reel them in for God. You may just throw the bait out and someone else reels them in. Whatever your roll is in bringing others to know and grow with Christ, only God knows. But go give it the “old college try” and toss your line out there for Jesus.
I pray God’s abundant love and blessings for y’all.
