05/12 Mad River

I went down to the Mad River at the bridge nearest my house this evening with my fly rod and had pretty good time for a little while. The trip started very well when a smallmouth nailed my wooly bugger on the first cast right at the end of the swing. I also got a very fat rock bass on a white streamer. It was the kind of fishing I have gotten used to over the years on overlooked waters; a little time spent with a few fish caught and nobody bothering me although numerous people passed by on the bike path.

It reminds of the times when Jesus set himself apart from the crowds to renew his strength. Now I am not nearly in as much demand as our Lord. Indeed, there are times when it seems I would have to walk into the mall naked to attract any attention. However, the pressures and tensions that beset me always seem to melt away for that length of time that I am by the water. Maybe it's because fishing is something I know intimately.

I'm sure this is how Peter felt when he went "afishing" as it says in John 21:3. He was returning to something he knew. He couldn't make sense out of what had happened to Jesus, his Master and his friend so he went fishing. He returned to something he knew well so he could clear the cobwebs and try to make sense of it all. We all do this in different ways. We talk to old friends, play a guitar, take a long walk, work out at the gym, pray, write, or hit a bucket of golf balls. We need to take time to make sense of our lives, to recharge our strength.

Father, help us all to take the time we need with you and also the time we need to take to recharge ourselves; that we may run and not be weary. In Jesus' name, amen.