The Fringes
For most of you it isn't news that it's hard for me to be satisfied. Many times this fact can be a negative thing but I'm thankful for this quality. Because it's hard for me to be satisfied it becomes very hard for me to stay content while pursuing empty things. Despite the lack of satisfaction I find in much of what the world has to offer, I find myself returning to the empty things that offer no joy or passion or fulfillment or hope. I came across an article today and it made me mindful again of all this. I just thought I would share some of it with you all. The author was once a field guide in the wilderness of British Columbia and he is comparing how he guided fishermen as an analogy to the Christian life. Fitting.
As we sat in our small boats day after day, we would watch larger ships moving by in the mainstream. It was difficult for the large boats to fight the main current, and much safer in the calm waters in the wide channels. They would move with the flow, fishing rods outstretched over the stern gunnels and troll along hoping to pick up a fish.
Little did they know that with their lines streaming out behind them, riding high as they moved along at ten to twelve knots, they were unlikely to catch anything. We fishing guides knew that the sport fish we sought loved to frequent the margins of the back eddies, where the powerful main current trapped the shrimp and herring on which they loved to feed. We sank our lines deep in the current with heavy weights in a style called “mooching.” We held our boats steady against the whirling currents and kept our lines hanging straight down.
We often felt envious of the comfortable cruisers as they sailed on by, tourists waving from sun-drenched decks, usually with cocktails in hand. It looked so comfortable and easy ... the three or four large fishing poles played out their lines, streaming in great lengths in their wake.
We sometimes felt we were going nowhere. Our small boats moved in small circles as we mooched along the edge of the rapids. But we caught lots of fish, and often, large fish.
We could have allowed ourselves to be defined by the main stream. We could have allowed our small boats to imitate the larger ships. We too could have had lines streaming out behind us, pina-coladas in hand, but we had more serious work to do. We were there to fish.
It is tough not to be defined by the main stream. The big money is tied up in big ships. But we learned that though the large boats were impressive and seemed to be going somewhere, they were really only useful for tourists. The serious fishermen knew this, and they hired us in our small boats to fight the currents for the fish they sought.
You can read the whole article here if you like: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god_article.php?id=7048