My Father Taught Me to Fish Left-handed

Grandkids fishing in Tennessee

My father taught me to fish left handed; I did not discover this for 55 years. It was only after he was gone, and I went fishing with someone else, that I realized everyone doesn’t fish his way.He was of the generation when a left handed person was required to learn to write with his right hand. He grew up one of three sons and became a father of three right-handed daughters . Therefore, although he wrote right handed, he was ambidextrous in many ways.

Now, that my father is gone and I fish alone, several things have changed. I no longer have fishing rods rigged by him. I no longer stand at his right hand…right next to him on the river bank or in a canoe casting, reeling, and waiting. Some things remain the same, though. You see, I learned to fish standing next to my father. Mimicking his every move, I tried to cast as far and deftly as he did. That is how I learned to fish and to serve. I learned by “being with” and “doing with,” and “waiting with.” There is an often-heard adage that some things are better “caught” than “taught.” You see in being “taught” we look “at,” but in being “caught” we look, “with.” We are called to stand next to others rather than to stand across from and mirror them.

children's fishing game and adults visiting

A couple of "caught" disciples at Second Church

Jesus’ disciples were “caught.” They listened and learned and served alongside him, and then they were sent to “go and do likewise.” They were to be fishers of men (people). The same is true for us. The call to be fisher folk is not a call to serve “at” but to serve “with.” To anyone else the reel may be on the wrong side. The line may be held with the wrong hand. The cast and catch may be from another perspective; however, we do what we do AND how we do it by “doing alongside” rather than “watching from across.” The one is participation; the latter is observation.

We are called to participate in this life. We are called to go and do likewise. We are called to be with. We are called to serve alongside and to fish the way our Father fishes, even if it may seem wrong to others. You see, my father taught me to fish left handed.

drawing of a cat face with a fishing pole and a very small fish

Peace,

Kat.

Comments

And on the seventh day...

Figure 1 http://www.montreat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Mountains-2-400x250-300x187.jpg We think of “Sabbath” as a time to NOT DO something. We stop. We wait. We rest. We sit. However, that is a lot of work! I think of Sabbath as “making a space.” It is an active choosing, remembering, and prioritizing a holy space for God. It is less about “letting go” and more about “leaning in” to the Breath of the Holy Spirit. In this context Sabbath is a return to our making. You see, in the beginning “the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). It is the breath of the Lord God that stirs dust into human. It is the breath of the Lord God that makes us living and gives us a life. Therefore, “Sabbath” – a time for rest and renewal, is an opportunity to reach for that breath of God which gives u...

Where is the Love--Guest Blogger Rev. Caroline Dennis

(Spiritual Practices for Families: Giving Thanks) Where is the Love? In December, amidst the wrappings and the shouts of glee, we found a quiet time to come to the manger and contemplate the great Love that God sent, wrapped in swaddling clothes. Here, as sparkling Christmas lights give way to snow and rain and ice, as gathered family gives way to bill paying and schedule keeping, how might we hold on those manger moments when we embraced the Love that embraces us? In these more ordinary days, can we still see the light that leads us to Bethlehem, to the ordinary extraordinary places where Love shows up? Here is my invitation to you, and to your children: Pause... in the middle of your "what's next" life... to see, hear, touch, smell, taste... all the amazing that is right here and now. Point it out to one another like we might point out the twinkling lights on a Christmas tree. Give thanks... for the warmth of the sweater, the wag of the do...

Churching where we are: We are ALL able around God’s table!

I sat in the sanctuary Sunday, and it felt VAST. Some might think of it as “empty…” but there was a huge sense of space and a connection to beyond the walls. I realized that Our Church circle is SO WIDE! We were gathered, in our own homes, but each of us was there standing, kneeling, sitting,and praying together before our God. Your home is a “room” in the House of God if we gather in the name of Jesus Christ. Kid’s club has been talking a lot about how we do not do “random” acts of kindness. We do them on purpose! We do INTENTIONAL acts of kindness in the name of Jesus Christ. We do them because Jesus asked us to do them! God helps us to do them! It is part of who we are and WHOSE we are as God’s beloved children. One activity from Kids Club is the “I CAN” cube . It helps to remind us that, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). You can do this at home. Take an em...

Second Church Steps

Search This Blog