Fishing for a Miracle
It was late December and the temperature was dropping. The lakes had not yet frozen, and the ponds on our property were just starting to ice up a little. My grandchildren were visiting, but everyone was sick. What a bummer! Thankfully, as they started to rebound, in the morning I heard, “Poppy, can we go fishing?”
When they were very young, I made sure that each of them felt the thrill of a fish on the end of their line. I’d set the hook of the initial catch then quickly hand them the pole as if they caught it on their own. The excitement on their faces brought me the greatest joy. When we reeled in the fish and set it on the ground, my grandchildren were ecstatic. Some would want to touch the rough scales and others would stand aside with their hands behind their back. It was a time they would never forget, and I had become their fishing hero.
On this particular day, my oldest grandson (4 years old) was starting to feel better and asked if I would take him fishing. Within minutes he had his snow jacket and boots on, and was waiting at the door. He still looked a little flushed but nothing was going to detract from his determination. With a nod and a smile, I said, “Let’s go fishing!” You should have seen his face—happy!
But then I remembered, we had a problem. We didn’t have any bait. We tried everything—lures, breadcrumbs, corn, decades-old salmon eggs buried in my tackle box—but not a single bite. Unless we found some worms, this was going to be a disappointing expedition.
Then something occurred to me—we could pray! More important than catching fish, this was an opportunity to help my grandson catch the realness of the power of prayer. Though we wouldn’t hear Jesus standing on the other side of the pond telling us to cast our net on the other side, we could pray and see what God might do. But praying to find a worm in late December might be asking for too much.
This was an important moment for my grandson. He was watching his Poppy pray and really talk with God. Even if we didn’t find a worm, this moment was worth it all. I wanted him to remember that Poppy even prays to find worms! So we stopped and prayed a simple prayer: “Please, God, help us find worms so we can catch some fish.”
Now the pressure was on. Where do I even start to look for worms on this frozen terrain? Close to the water possibly? The shoreline wasn’t completely frozen. We turned over rocks and dug around the edge of the water but found nothing. He was starting to lose interest, so I kept praying silently that the God of the universe would help me find some worms. “Lord, where can I find worms?”
Suddenly, I remembered watching a video of a man in the Swiss Alps who grew citrus fruit at 7000 feet above sea level! He had a flourishing garden, even throughout the winter. He used water, rock, and trees as a source of solar heat storage.
As I thought about what I had learned, I looked around. There it was—a large tree near the pond, soaking in the sunlight that bright sunny day. I grabbed my grandson’s hand, and we took off running with our shovel and some exciting anticipation! “Right here,” I said. “This is where we are going to find worms.”
There was a large pocket of beautiful green moss tucked close to the trunk of the tree. We paused and rubbed our hands across the velvety soft green blanket—so beautiful. I commented on how creative God was. My grandson kept caressing the surface. Even if we didn’t find a worm, he was gaining an appreciation for God’s creative goodness. We examined the moss further and thanked God for this creative marvel. Then, we slowly peeled back the moss, and there they were! Enough worms to go fishing! We gently laid the moss back and praised God for His goodness to us.
We ran back to the pond and cast the worm-wrapped hook into the pond. Within seconds, the bobber plunged! We had caught our fish! We were so excited, and then within seconds of our celebration, he threw-up!
Oh well, not every story ends happily ever after, but besides finding our worm, and catching our fish, I believe something special was caught that day, and I pray that it will never be forgotten.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (I John 5:14, 15).
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby
M.S., M. Div., Th. M., D. Min.
Recommended Reading:
Ages 2-6
Trusty Faces His Fear (Illustrated)
Trusty Finds a Friend (Illustrated)
Ages 7-10
Ages 11+
