Last man in the boat (Luke 5:9)

For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; (Luke 5:9 NASB)

Seized by amazement! That's pretty surprised, isn't it? Simon Peter was seized by amazement because of the boat-sinking catch, but all his companions were also seized by amazement. Note the word ALL. It does not mean some of his companions were amazed, it means every single man present that day was seized by amazement at the work of Jesus.  That immobilizing astonishment made all the extra work well worth it, didn't it?  I imagine those men spent the rest of their lives telling about that astonishing morning.

It makes me want to be where Jesus is at work, just in case He does a big and flashy miracle, doesn't it you?  The big catch seems impossible, but what is even more impossible, even more astonishing, is when the Spirit of God catches the heart of a man and utterly transforms him. That IS impossible without divine intervention. 

There is one more point we need to see. Those companions were merely bystanders to the action. They entered in only at Simon's request, and after the miracle was over except for the receiving. Nevertheless, they received equal astonishment, equal blessing with Simon, who was there at the start. Even the last man in the boat received the wonder and gifts of Christ in full measure. I don't know about you, but that is incredibly encouraging to me. 

Pray today that we and our loved ones will position ourselves in such a way that, like those companions, we will find ourselves astonished by what God does without our help and when and where we least expect it. Take heart in the full-measure blessing those last-in-the-boat companions received. 

Coyote Blessings

Blessings sometimes come in strange packages, and it makes them a little hard to recognize. You've probably had a few blessings of your own like that. The coyotes have turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me. Well, sorta. 

There's a train that passes through our town. I don't have its time schedule, but best I can tell, it passes through here at 9:00 pm, 11:00 pm, 1:00 am, and 3:00 am. I know that, because that's when I wake up. Every night. As it rolls through town, it blows a train whistle that is loud enough to wake the dead (as well as the sleeping). Now, that whistle is a good thing, despite the racket in the night, because it lets drivers know to stop at railroad crossings. It keeps our citizens safe, and I am all for that. 

The whistle, however, wakes the coyotes too. They go totally crazy, yipping and making coyote-racket. It's a frightful sound. Then the coyote-yipping wakes the dogs ( my outside dog as well as my inside-on-my-bed dog) and they start barking like a home invasion is underway.  There is no way to sleep through all this, so I get up for a few minutes. I can't stay up long, though, because I only have two hours to sleep before we do it all again. 

Recently, I've been pondering the racket in the night and how to get more sleep. As long as the coyotes and Maggie the Wonder Dog are mixing it up every two hours all night long, it's not going to happen. You can probably guess where I'm going with this. I began to think about getting rid of those varmints. 

Now you may not believe this, but it turns out there is an art to coyote hunting and there are people that really like to do it. I'm not saying they specialize in hunting coyotes, but suffice it to say, there are people to call.  I had begun to think about calling the coyote whisperers and asking them to reduce the population, but the idea of a massacre just didn't appeal to me. There must have been some reason to create them (though I can't imagine what) so, instead, I began to hope (and pray) for an alternative. 

I didn't hold out much hope for some sort of miraculous disappearance, so when Bill ( who helps me on my farm) offered to trap them, I said to go ahead. This sleeping thing was nearly to a critical point. I started fretting about fur licenses and permits and Bill said,"Nope. I don't need any of that."  Here's where things get interesting. He has a friend who has a kind of coyote farm. 150 acres!!! The man wants the coyotes, but only if they are alive!  No massacre!! No killing varmints!!! Can you believe it? 

I'm thrilled and really looking forward to moving the coyotes to the coyote-farmer's land. They didn't turn out to be a blessing for me, exactly, but they have allowed me to bless the coyote-farmer, and they will (I guess) be a blessing to him (if not to his neighbors). I can hardly wait for them to move!

The coyotes have reminded me of something I should have considered. There is no problem so bad or so complicated that it cannot be solved. There is a way through anything you face. There is a plan, and it's a good one, designed by One who loves you more than you can understand. The solution for finding the blessing lies not in yourself, but in knowing Who to ask.