That old tackle box...

Fishing...I'm a little obsessed.

People love to fish for different reasons-for sport, for leisure, for food, and for a different social setting. Me? There is nothing like looking out over open water at a breath-taking sunrise/sunset to remind me of God's faithfulness. Nothing compares to sitting silently in God's creation with not one thought other than why I can't do this all day everyday...

Last week, I went fishing on the coast during our Spring Break trip...woke up a little too early, no thanks Daylight Savings...so I had plenty of time to see a gorgeous sunrise. And as it rose, I simply closed my eyes and took a deep breathe, and then opened up my tackle box. As I sat waiting on a bite, I studied that tackle box...this is deep if you read it correctly, so get ready ;)

There is so much to a tackle box that you can compare to life- to love, to relationships, to careers, to spirituality...

The box. Mine is fairly new with just a few smudges and scratches. It's not the sturdiest of plastics and still a little impressionable. It's young and a little inexperienced, but broken in. It contains the basic neccessities and things I have learned to use so far...it will continue to collect things. My dad's, however, is a stronger type of plastic, older, and about 13 shades of brown and black. It's been on several trips, not all of them successful or great, but especially blessed in their own way. It's also well-stocked from years of experience. Most of the lures are worn, but there are several new ones waiting to be used still. And my grandfather's...that thing looks like it has been through several wars and lost all of them. It's metal...strong and sturdy...with a few dents that had to have come from some pretty hard blows. And if there is something you need or even don't need, it is definitely in that box collected over a lifetime. That box also contains more stories than fish you will catch in one fishing trip...

The lures and hooks. Walk down the isles of a hunting/fishing store..there are hundreds - Artificials in the form of grasshoppers, minnows, chad, frogs, worms, bugs, mullet, etc; scented bait; stink bait; live bait; artificials that contain live bait; and the list goes on and on and on. Everyone is completely different and unique. Some are cookie cutter and much less expensive than the hand-crafted lures that are so realistic...because the hand-crafted ones just work better. I have my favorites, even favorite colors of my favorite lures, just like all fishermen. Your preferences come from your experience. For example, the shiny, flashy ones are not the ones I want...they look really good, but I know which ones actually work. I know which ones withstand the test of time. There are certain lures that attract specific kinds of fish...there are so many options and fish fall for them so easily. They are so attracted to something so dangerous, they fall for it, and then they are hooked. If they're lucky they may be released back into their life with little to no damage...hopefully (for the fish) learning their lesson.

The line Rolls of it readily available. The line protects the fisher from having to go in the water and find the fish. It allows you to keep a safe distance from whatever lies beneath...depending on how much line you release. When the line on the pole is worn out, you exchange it for new line...depend on something stronger to reel in the fish. And it gets tangled so easily; sometimes the fault of the person distracted too easily by surrounding brush; sometimes the fault of the wind because it is so flimsy; sometimes the fault of no one because you can't always see what lies beneath the water...a lot of unneccessary trash dangerous to the line. And sometimes, it doesn't go the direction you planned for it to go. That unplanned spot may catch on hell of a fish immediately, you may have to wait patiently, or you may have to try again.

And with all of the tools and experience acquired in that tackle box...you never know what you may get...And when you catch that perfect fish, there's nothing like it in the world...a true gift from God...

I could go on for longer, but my brain is tired :) Hopefully you could apply that to many situations in your life as I did to mine...what a blessing to be present in the moment...