Gone fishing
Geoff Jackman on the joys of casting your line...

I wonder how many times we have wished we could put a notice on our office door saying ‘Gone Fishing’. I know I would like to put that notice up at least once a week. To say that I love fishing would be an understatement - I would, given the chance, spend the majority of my time on the seashore with a rod in my hand, waiting expectantly for that ever so elusive but definite tug on the line that means you have a bite and it's time to strike and play the fish and hopefully bring it in.

I only took up fishing about four years ago when my friend Vince asked if I would like to go fishing with him and his son Kenny. I hadn’t been fishing for more years than I care to remember - in fact I think the last time I fished was as a schoolboy on the bank of the river Tavy in the Meadows. I had never fished from the seashore and had no idea what it was like, so not knowing what to expect we set off for Hopes Nose at Torquay for a day's fishing. It was fantastic! I caught several mackerel and had the best day out for years, and boy, did those fish taste really good when cooked on the barbecue that evening!

Since then Vince and I have been fishing many times. We've joined a local fishing club and fish on a regular basis with them. Some people say fishing is a skill that takes years to learn and some spend thousands of pounds on the right gear. I believe that it is a matter of casting your bait in the sea and whichever fish is hungry enough will eat it. If the fish are around, you are likely to catch one; if they aren't, you won’t. Simple really.

Since Vince and I have been fishing together we have formed a closer and deeper friendship. Sometimes we can (and do) talk about anything, sometimes we spend the whole time fishing and say very little to each other. We are comfortable with each other - the silence is reassuring just in knowing that there is someone else there with you, sharing the same interests, the same scenery, the same air and so on.

It's very much like that with Jesus - knowing that you don’t have to talk to him all the time, that he is there with you sharing in whatever you are doing. As Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew chapter 28 v.20)

Geoff

P.S. If anyone wants to join us in our fishing expeditions, drop me a line at King's, Pixon Lane, Tavistock, Devon

 

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