My husband and I went fishing last week. One final day on the lake before summer would come to a close, and he would return to school. (He is a teacher). We love to be outdoors, fishing, hiking, backpacking, camping, gardening, or walking the dogs. If it provides us with an opportunity to get out of the house, we take it.
Our day began uneventfully. We had an easy boat launch, and the lake was nearly empty as it was the middle of the week. This made for perfect fishing conditions, in my opinion. Things started slowly. I was throwing my go-to lure that always catches fish. I have so much faith in that lure that I have 5 of the same lure. Yes, that’s right, 5. I started with 3 of these lures. I had lost 2 of them. One to a nasty deep-water snag that I could not free, and one to some big ole fish that bent my pole and snapped my line. It was likely a catfish or a carp. When I was down to my last lure, I ordered more. Four more, to be exact. That lure is the lure with which I always start my day of fishing.
This summer has been very, very hot and extremely humid. I am not a fan of heat or humidity. We could jump right from spring to fall, and I would be completely delighted by that. Because of the excessive heat, I wasn’t expecting much from this day on the lake, other than to be out and enjoying God’s magnificent creation. Then it happened, a gentle tug on my line, and I pulled in a decent bluegill.
I am usually fishing for large-mouth bass, but I am happy to reel in any fish, although carp sometimes give me anxiety. There is just something about them that makes me uneasy. But they are kind of fun to fight.
The bluegill was a fighter and a nice little chunk. I gently removed the hook, my husband took a picture, and I released him back to the water. I am sure he would have some stories to tell his fishy friends.
We continued to fish the shoreline. Thirty minutes later, I snagged another one. This bluegill was similar in size to the last one, but I thought sure I had a crappie on the line. No matter, catching fish makes me happy. Once again, I removed the hook, my husband took another picture, and he rejoined his friends in the water.
At this point, I have caught two fish in less than an hour. My husband has caught zero. That didn’t seem to bother him in the least. He was just happy to be out (with me) on the lake. He says I am very competitive. I suppose I am, because I did remind him that I have been out fishing him all summer.
Guess what? 30 minutes later, I landed #3. This little fish wasn’t much bigger than my lure, but he put up a heck of a fight. And now I’m up 3-0.
We decided to move to a different location, an area where we had never fished before. It certainly looked like the perfect spot. There was shade, and structure, and the wind was blowing into that area. Excellent conditions for fish. We fished there for about 40 minutes with no luck.
My husband commands the boat. He usually fishes the area first, and then I follow up behind him. It was getting late in the morning, and the heat was beginning to exhaust us. Then it happened. I tossed my lure right next to a downed log. I was sure I got it too close and snagged it. But that snag was a fish, and it was a big fish (in comparison to what I had already caught). He hit my lure as soon as it dropped, and the race was on. I knew this was a good fish, and I didn’t want to lose it. I took my time, kept the rod tip bent, and worked my retrieve to keep him away from the prop. And I landed him. A beautiful largemouth bass, probably around 3lbs, my biggest fish of the day, and the nicest bass I caught all year. I was elated, giddy, ecstatic, and just could not contain my excitement.
And guess what, my husband was excited for me too! It didn’t matter that he had caught nothing that day (except for a stick and a leaf). He was happy for me. It didn’t matter that I had caught 4 fish that day, while he barely had a nibble. He was just enjoying the day, and he was celebrating my joy with me. The score didn’t matter. In fact, he wasn’t keeping score.
You know who else doesn’t keep score? God doesn’t keep score; we do. As humans, we have this need to keep score of everything, not just how many fish we catch. We keep score of who paid for lunch last, who called whom last, who drove to the movies, who invited whom to dinner, who apologized, who sent the last text, you get the picture. We constantly keep score, and then harbor resentment when things don’t go the way we think they should.
But God doesn’t keep score (and that is good news for us). When you stop keeping score, you can thoroughly enjoy the moment and celebrate with others. My husband did that. Who caught what didn’t matter. What mattered was that we were together, appreciating the natural world, had no other commitments or responsibilities that day, and we were fortunate enough to catch some fish.
God celebrates with us in all of our joys and comforts us in all of our sorrows. He never keeps score.
So today, stop keeping score. Enjoy the moment, rest in God’s goodness, and know that you are enough. You don’t have to measure yourself against others by keeping score. God loves you just the way you are. And today, please pray for me, and I will continue to pray for you.
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