You don't have to look far for what is right by you
I have come to realize there is more to catching a fish. A part of the enjoyment or excitement rather is knowing at least there is a fish nearby and after my fly.
Lately, as of sometime late last year, I have literally fallen in love with fly fishing. It's one of those God desires that He just all of a sudden bursts inside of you that you just have to do.
So, I went to my local sporting good store and bought a cheap $30 fly fishing kit with everything I needed to start. I basically taught myself from what I had either seen on movies or just researched online. Instead of putting a fly on the end of my line, I would practice tirelessly for hours with a rubber band on the end.
When I first started out, I had grown obsessed with learning my style in casting and technique over actually catching a fish, but something happened about a couple months ago that switched my mentality completely. By the time I knew it, my cast, technique, and even style had been mildly perfected (according to some experienced fly fisherman's opinions after watching me) and I began to desire to catch a fish. It is almost like I was ready to reap the rewards of all that hard work I had put into becoming a fly fisherman.
My focus now has shifted from process to purpose in a matter of about 5 months or so.
It's funny how that happens.
I have also realized that the fun itself is not only in the catch as much as it is in finding and landing the catch.
The joy and fulfillment is in seeing the fish stalk my fly, feeling the nibbles, and watching as they attempt to pounce on it. Knowing there is a fish after my fly is really actually exciting and causes me to be even more determined and purposeful in my attempt to lure it to my hook.
But, something else stuck out as I heard God whisper something to me while fishing one evening.
I had been going for the deeper middle part of the pond closer to where a lit up water fountain was of moving water.
But I was getting nothing.
It wasn't until I was reeling my line in for another cast when close to me not even 4 feet away a fish splashed as it tried to eat my fly.
I heard Him say:
"You don't have to look far for what is right by you... Right in front of you."
Than I remembered the story of the fishermen who were casting their nets on the wrong side of their boat.
If you think about it, they were SO close... Yet it wasn't close enough because they were not catching anything.
Jesus had to reveal to them what they were missing and it was right there just in front of them... merely on the other side of their boat.
Apparently their boats weren't very large back then so it is easy to think of how close they were to where the fish were and the necessary adjustment needed to simply throw their nets to the other side, although I'm sure it took work to switch sides.
It's amazing what we are missing right in front of us when we are looking to catch that "big one."
Fill in that thing with whatever it is you are after. God is so patient with us as we toil in the wrong direction or accurately toss our efforts to the wrong side of our lives through decisions we make and the directions we head.
It is so very important to recognize our dire need for our Lord and Lover of our hearts as He reveals to us what we are missing that lies right under our noses.
Don't get me wrong... I finally caught the fish that had been after my fly. (I had been taking small breaks to write all these things down as He showed me so as not to forget!)
It is fun to finally catch what you've been after... But getting there is not half as fulfilling without the process it took to catch it.
That's with anything.
Right now in my life I feel like I've been casting my net in the wrong places. And now I can hear Jesus yelling from the shore, "Wrong side son! Try the other one! It has been right under your nose this entire time!"
I can see Him smiling lovingly as a father would, anticipating his son's success and joy from following His direction.
It's truly a beautiful thing to be led by God.
-photos taken on the Brazos River near Palo Pinto County, TX-
