Fishing

Reflect is my word for 2022 and with it has come a complete slow down in my normal hustle and bustle. I think this is part of the process. I have to live life and sit in stillness to have the capacity to think forward.

I finished my masters degree in Pastoral Counseling in May. Then saw to it that my oldest child graduated from High School, major homeschooling mom win! We have been traveling and enjoying spending time together as a family. I have even taken up a new hobby, disc golfing, and am the world's most okayish disc golfer, thank you very much.

I have been reading and studying about soul care and what this means for the hurried pace of our lives. There is value in being busy and working towards goals, but there is greater benefit in being aware of moments. How often have I missed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to engage with a human in need of help because I was rushing to the next task. Dallas Willard penned "ruthlessly eliminate hurry" and so this has become the first thing that comes to my mind when I start to get caught up and anxious about the next thing.

This does not mean I am not anxious for the next thing. I feel like I am ready to embark on the next chapter of my journey but feelings lie. The truth is, waiting, most of the time, is being faithful with the small things.

Recently, we were on a family trip which for us often means being on the banks of a body of water with a fishing pole in our hands. I have fished for years but never caught a fish. Most of the years, my time was spent faithfully keeping my children alive as they adventured too close to the water with sharp hooks. But on this trip, I was sitting on the side of the bank, pole in hand, and waiting. I checked my email to find the official notice that I was an ordained minister and then miracle of miracles, I got a bite. I

thought I had lost it, since the line went slack almost immediately. But I slowly and diligently reeled in the line and then I saw it. A beautiful large rainbow trout. Hundreds of hours of waiting on the shore to finally catch the most beautiful fish ever. That's what waiting and reflecting is like. Prepared, equipped, but waiting for the perfect timing. Faithfully casting out those prayers, making sure the equipment is in proper working order, and then waiting for God to make it happen. I caught a fish in the same moment as I became an official fisher of men. #onlyGod