“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return here, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:8-11
Landing this particular trout was quite an adventure. In fact, there were a few minutes when I thought I’d never get a chance to take a picture of it, let alone be able to share it with you. After the fish rose for my dry fly, he took off downriver in a hurry, and actually pulled all my fly line from the reel along with some of the backing line. For me, the chance to land a strong and relatively large cutthroat trout always adds to the joy of being on the river.
Suddenly the challenge of landing the trout took an unexpected turn. Somewhere between the initial run the trout made and the above picture, the spool of my reel fell off. Off as into the river and into about three feet of water!
I stood for a long moment looking at the spool of line lying at the bottom of the clear water as the fish continued to zip this way and that across the river. This is not the textbook way to catch a trout. I stretched down into the cold water and was barely able to reach the spool. Then I slapped it back on to the reel just in time for the trout to make another run. I had taken a few more steps toward shore when the tiny screw that holds the spool onto the reel fell off and back into the river. Somehow I could barely see the screw resting precariously on a small rock at my feet. I gingerly reached back into the cold water and latched on to the tiny thing before it slipped out of sight and into oblivion. Then I carefully screwed it back on with a few turns of my thumbnail.
In an attempt to keep more parts of the disintegrating reel from tumbling away, I turned the fly rod sideways so the reel was now facing skyward. Meanwhile Cosmos the Wonderdog swam around me in delight as he looked on in amusement. Having a splashing fish nearby is always cause for adventure!
I stumbled to the bank and managed to bring the fish to shore.
Whew.
Although Cosmos did his best to get his snoot in the picture, I managed to capture a photo of just the fish cradled in my hand.
I was fortunate to catch a lot of fish on that trip, some smaller and a lot about this size or larger. But of all those fish, it was the challenges of catching this one, challenges which I wouldn’t have opted to go through if given the choice, that makes this particular fish a bit special to me.
Sometimes we have to go through challenges in this life which we definitely wouldn’t choose if it were up to us. Yet if we will follow God, He promises that His Word will not return void but will accomplish what He sent it out to do. And knowing God, it will turn out for good, even if we don’t see it at the time. And God can use even difficulties and challenges to make the outcome more meaningful than we can imagine.
Not sure how to have a relationship with the God whose Word will not return to Him void? See Got God?
Hope you have a great day.