The Runaway Fishing Pole (A.K.A. My Comical Life)

"I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain."     Psalms 3:4

He was bringing in perch off the dock about every minute.  Pure joy and pride on my six year old's face  every time that bobber went under.  It didn't matter to him that each one was between two and six inches long, only that they were biting over and over again.  The start of a deep love for fishing.

Naturally, someone had to stand there and take the fish off the hook every time.  I found myself in this lovely spot and was enjoying it immensely.  As a mom, it is impossible not to feel joy when you see your kids so excited about something.  So, when he accidentally threw his kid fishing pole into the water with his next cast, I did what any mom would do to save him from disappointment.  I reacted without thinking.  :-)

In a moment, I found myself plunged head-first under the water with only my legs from knee down holding me onto the dock.  Reaching...reaching...almost got it...

Nope, come up for air...

Plunge back in...reach, reach....then...

(panic)  "MOM!  THE BOBBER'S UNDER!  THE BOBBER'S UNDER!"

Oh, boy.

Plunge and reach as far as I can....SUCCESS!  I grasp the handle of the pole on the bottom of the lake.

The problem?  I can't get out of the position I have gotten myself into!  My arms weren't long enough to reach back to the dock and pull myself back.  So, laughing and screaming for my son to take the pole and someone on shore to come help me, I flapped my arms as my head bobbed in and out of the water.

Of course, help came and I was rescued from my impulsive dive.

What do you plunge into without thinking about it because it will bring love and joy to someone you love? It is so easy to do with my kids.  For so many parents, it would come naturally, and when all is said and done, we wouldn't regret it one bit.  I didn't, he caught the fish.

It amuses me to think about how I do this in my everyday life.  I plunge...often.  And, without fail, I often find myself calling to Jesus for help as I flap my arms.  What a comical scene it must be from Heaven!  I picture them all up there laughing at my idiocracy as they faithfully bail me out.

And there is the truth.  No matter how often we get ourselves up a creak without a paddle, when we cry out to him for help, Jesus is faithful and answers our call.  And he will the next time, and the next, and the next...