Sweetwater Presbyterian

Small in size, Large in Faith and Love

Devotion for April 27, 2016

Greetings!!

My husband and I had to travel this past weekend.  We were leaving our current home to go back to our former home (anyone want to buy a house?) to do some packing and cleaning and organizing so that my husband could complete his move from WV to NC.  
The trip takes about 5 1/2 hours and realistically is not a bad trip.  Most of the trip is four lane and except for a few quirky moments goes pretty smoothly.  Of course those quirky moments are enough sometimes to make the trip a little nerve racking - like one of the entrance ramps that give you about 16 inches to merge into heavy, truck filled oncoming traffic.  This is a little disconcerting and I admit until this feat is accomplished the preceding moments are a bit stress filled.  
Depending on the route we take - there are several to choose from - there are also the two long, dark tunnels to travel through which again are a bit distressing only due to the large trucks which are traveling through at the same time at a higher rate of speed than they probably should have!  The relative size of large trucks and my average SUV inside a tunnel can be quite daunting.
Regardless of what route we do take - unless of course we  take one of our hair brained journeys cross country which we do occasionally to ‘just do something different’ - the one constant in our travels to and from is that there is always, always, a lot of traffic.  
A lot of traffic.  Usually bumper to bumper, both lanes full of cars and trucks for most of the trip.  The road we take is the major north/south highway for everyone on the east coast - or at least it seems that way when we are driving it!
This amazing amount of vehicles means that there are often miles and miles of following the same car or van or big truck or little truck simply because there is no where else to go - following what is in front of you is the only way you can move forward because there is a car beside of you in their own line going about the same speed as you.  
As long as everyone is traveling at the same speed and no one is coming on or off the road (which is often quite a long distance because there is no place to get on or off!) you are stuck there in the same little cluster of vehicles for miles and miles.
And that is how it was on this trip to WV.  We successfully maneuvered the difficult moments of the trip and found ourselves in our little enclave of vehicles all traveling at the same speed and all traveling together.  We found ourselves behind a truck that was pulling a boat - a fishing boat.  
How did we know it was a fishing boat? Because this was a well stocked fishing boat!  We had plenty of time to assess the collection that was included in this fishing boat.   There was a large net sticking out from somewhere in the boat - one of those nets that has the long handle so you can reach down in the water and snag the fish.  There was a big motor on one end of the boat and also one of those little trolling motors hooked to the side of the boat.  There was a large ice chest strapped to one side of the boat - was that for fish that was caught or did it hold drinks and snacks or maybe both?  Well that is just a short list but I could go on and on and on about all the fishing accessories we were able to catalog during our time of following this truck pulled boat down the road.
We didn’t have any idea who the person was driving the truck that was pulling the boat - but what we did know is that whoever the fisherman was, he (or she) was well prepared for his task of catching fish.
Are we that well prepared as we try to live our lives as people of God?  Can people look to us as we surveyed this fisherman and know that we know who we are as God’s followers?  Are we equipped to live and serve as those whom God has called us?  
I’m sure that fisherman who owned the well stocked boat spent lots of time in sporting good stores or online at fisherman sites or with those myriad of fishing magazines so that he (or she) would know what a well primed fisher person would need. 
That should teach us what a well prepared God follower would need to do as well.  We have great resources - The Bible, great teachers and leaders, other followers of God.  We have great opportunities - our worship, Bible study, time together as God’s people - and we need to take advantage of all of these times in order for us to be able to stock our ‘boat’ with the tools we need to do what God calls us to do.  

Amen                                                                             
 Joanne




These devotions began in 2006 as a way to give us a midweek boost as we live out our lives as the people of God!  Feel free to share them if you wish.