It started innocently enough. I had just beaten the rain to the dock and entered the fish cleaning house with my morning’s catch, when the other two entered through the spring-hinged screen door. The typical fishing pleasantries were shared between the three of us—“Those are wall-hangers where we come from.” I asked where they were from, and they said the Monroe area. I was grateful for their compliment and congratulated them on the number of fine panfish lying on the cleaning table; however, my spirit said there was more to these two gentlemen than the smell of fish and rain-soaked outerwear. (Pause for Thought: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear’.”—Luke 1:41-42. Have you ever sensed there was more to a meeting with a stranger than what was happening through your physical senses? To what did you attribute it?)

I could tell they sensed more to me, as well. The questions started becoming more personal and the explanations more detailed. Then it finally happened. The question and explanation we all were waiting to hear—“Are you a Christian? What does Christ mean to you?” The younger of us stated he had recently, within the last couple of years, surrendered his heart to Jesus and enjoys cooking for his church’s wild game dinner outreach. The older of us declared he was the retired pastor of a church in Monroe, and it was he who led the younger to faith in Christ. The worship began. Our hunting and fishing adventures took second-place to the miracles Jesus had wrought in our lives and how the Holy Spirit was changing us daily. (Pause for Thought: “It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God.”—3 John 3-6 When is the last time you were doing something menial or mundane only to have it turn into a worship-fest? Who was with you?)

I know our meeting was not by chance, and I know the hobby of fishing lends perfectly to my soul’s sense of the Holy Spirit when I meet fellow fishermen. Throughout the gospels, Jesus turned an ordinary outing on a lake or shore into a worship service. I know he does it with the many talents and hobbies He bestows upon His children. For the disciples who were fishermen and became fishers-of-men, no morning catch would ever be the same. (Pause for Thought: “I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you’. So they got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that is was Jesus. He said, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish? Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.”—John 21:3-6,14. Has Jesus used your gifts or talents to make your spirit and soul aware of His presence and/or His presence in others? Have you thanked God for these gifts and talents and expressed your worship for the times He encounters you in your efforts?)